:: The show goes on ::

A mixture of emotions as I took to the airwaves last night to bring you all the latest bag of future releases, sneaky bootlegs and hot remixes.  Hopefully I didn't disappoint and a few of you were clearly feeling the tunes last night, so thanks for your calls and texts.

We took the chance last night to re-visit the guest mix from Mark Wilkinson (Kidology), who was my special guest during the Summer. Mark is back in town soon (6th Dec @ 2020) for his awesome Kidology night.  Do check him and the lovely Kidettes out when they hit town for a final session from them for 2008.

Here's the tracklisting for the show:

Consoul Trainin - Stop (Club Edit) (Strictly)

Outsiders ft. Amanda Wilson - Keep This Fire Burnin' (Freemasons Remix) (Loaded)

Solitaire ft. Shena - Fantasy (Original Mix) (Solo Music)

Fish & Chips vs. Tanya Louise - Deep In You (Ortega's Soulful Mix) (Jolly Roger)

No Halo - Put Your Hands On (Club Mix) (Hed Kandi)

DJ Pedro - Day By Day (Extended Club Mix) (Hit!)

John Barrowman - What About Us (Simmons & Christopher Remix) (Epic)

Jupiter Ace - Believe (Original Mix) (Top Draw)

Girls Aloud - The Promise (Dave Aude Unreleased Remix) (Polydor)

Fonzarelli - Losing U (Club Remix) (Big In Ibiza)

Tinatin - Thinking Of Someone Else (White Label)

Wideboys & Dennis G - Sambuca 08 (Electro Remix) (AATW)

Sharon Woolf vs. Bimbo Jones - Sweet Like Chocolate 08 (White Label)

Chicago vs. Mixbuster - Hard To Say I'm Sorry (Bootleg)

Flash - Saviour Of Electro (Bootleg)

Ron Carroll - Bump To This (Muzzaik Remix) (Spinnin)

Sander Van Doorn vs. Robbie Williams - Close My Eyes (Original Mix) (Maelstrom)

Eric Prydz - Evouh (Original Mix) (Pryda)

DJ Rasoul - True Science (Leaf Vinyl)

Bobby Peru - Venom (Vision)

Deadmau5 - Bye Friend (Sample Only) (Mau5trap)

Deadmau5 - Hi Friend (Mau5trap)

Kidda - Under The Sun (Herve Remix) (Skint)

Markus Gardeweg - Fairplay (DONS & DBN Remix) (Kontor)

+

Mark Wilkinson/Kidology Guest Mix

Back next week for more of the same.

Si

:: Final Departure ::

Ken Sinfield (2 November 1932 - 12th November 2008)

My thanks to everyone for your kind words and cards of sympathy over this past week.  My Dad was clearly well loved and highly regarded amongst all that knew him.  After his battle with Alzheimers, which can never be won, he died peacefully last Wednesday with a legacy of love, laughs and daft stories.

I hope that his condition meant he knew nothing about his final few weeks and that he's now walking the dog, catching up with his Father, and finally getting to know his Mother.

Love you Dad.

:: Pure Quality ::

A return to the FIRE airwaves last night after my brief escape. I plowed my way through the tunes last night, in a bid to bring you a cross section of upfront house and electro tunes, plus some quality vocal house and cheeky bootlegs. A stack of texts and calls to the studio throughout the evening kept me very busy. Thanks for getting involved.

On Air with the 'Wheels Of Plastic'!

Just after 9pm I featured a new Mixbuster creation - where I've just ripped up Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' into a dirty piece of electro nonsense. Not the first person to do this I know, but it needed a spin. Alongside this was the absolutely brilliant 'Electro Sandman' by Dunproofin' - a purveyor of mighty find mash-ups and mixes and a huge, huge talent! Check his blog out here.

Jason Herd, a guest on the show a few weeks ago, supplied the guest mix @ 10pm, which provided a quality end to the evening session on FIRE107.6FM.

Playlist below:

Guru Josh 'Infinity 2008' (Maelstrom)
Stockholm Syndrome 'Make You Whole' (Super-Superb)
ATFC 'Juss A Beat' (Defected)
Denis The Menace & Big World ' Show Me A Reason' (Tuna)
No Halo 'Put Your Hands On' (Hed Kandi)
Poussez vs. Demarkus Lewis ft. Hannak Khemoh 'Passin Thru' (Tone Control)
John Legend 'Greenlight' (Columbia)
Sharon Wolf vs. Bimbo Jones 'Sweet Like Chocolate' (White)
Malibu Sneakers 'Get Down' (Data)
Kurd Maverick & Azin 'Let The Freak Out' (Opaque)
Robin S 'Show Me Love 08' (Champion)
Deadmau5 'Bye Friend' (Sample) (Mau5trap Recordings)
Robin S 'Luv 4 Luv 08' (Champion)
Mixbuster vs. Nirvana 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' (Bootleg)
Dunproofin' 'Electro Sandman' (Bootleg)
Andrew Spencer vs. Lazard 'Here Without You' (Mondo's Remix) (White)
Deadmau5 ft. MC Flipside 'Hi Friend' (Cinnamon)
Laidback Luke 'Break The House Down' (Stealth)
Mark Knight vs. Dirty South vs. The Police 'Like Black Spot On The Sun' (Bootleg)
Filter Freq 'Dirty Sexy Club' (Deadmau5 Remix) (Kontrast)
Nicky Romero 'Funktion One' (Loopfreaks)
Hybrid 'Finished Symphony' (DR)
Funkagenda 'San Francisco' (Toolroom)
Simian Mobile Disco 'Hustler' (Wichita)
+
Jason Herd Guest Mix

Back next week as usual. See ya.

:: Put Your Hands On ::

Another session of upfront house tunage and some storming electro tracks for your ears last night. Loads of feedback for the tunes, especially some of the slightly more obscure tracks that I had on the show last night. Tracklisting below if you want to source the sounds!

No Halo 'Put Your Hands On' (Radio Edit) (Hed Kandi)
Stockholm Syndrome 'Make You Whole' (Club Mix) (Super-Superb)
Bimbo Jones 'And I Try' (Max Jackson Dirty Funk Mix) (Promo)
Eric Prydz 'Pjanoo' (Evans Sax Mix) (Data)
Fake Blood 'Mars' (Original Mix) (Cheap Thrills)
Poussez vs. Demarkus Lewis ft. Hannah Khemoh 'Passin Thru' (Tone Control)
John Legend 'Greenlight' (Karmatronic Remix) (Columbia)
Guru Josh Project 'Infinity 2008' (Maelstrom)
Onionz ft. SNOW 'Nothin But Love' (Funkerman Remix) (Toolroom)
ATFC 'Juss A Beat' (Original Mix) (Defected)
Mondotek 'Alive' (Hard2Beat)
Damian Wilson 'Take Me Away' (Original Club Mix) (Cr2)
Sharon Wolf vs. Bimbo Jones 'Sweet Like Chocolate 08' (Vocal Mix) (White)
Shapeshifters 'Chime' Martijn Ten Velden Remix' (Nocturnal)
Mark Knight & Funkagenda 'Done & Dusted' (Meerkats Mix) (Toolroom)
Deadmau5 'Bye Friend' (J&S)
Frank Anthony 'But Full On' (Simon Sinfield Remix) (UD)
Quarion 'Takin No Shots' (Toolroom)
Deschamps 'A Million Oaks' (Toolroom)
Bart B More 'Make Some Noise'
Frankie Rizardo 'Rush-hour' (Mixbuster Mash-Up)
WTF 'Chicken' Original Mix) (Toolroom)

Gonna be missing in action next week by taking a little break away from the madness, however you'll be taken care of by 2020 resident James Herkes. Please do check him out and give him the usual Pure Fire love.

Back in a fortnight. Take care.

:: Knight night! ::

A great response as always for the tunage on last night's show. Thanks for your feedback. The highlight of course was my very special guest, DJ/Producer and record label boss Mark Knight. Mark will be celebrating the 2nd birthday of Toolroom Knights at the Ministry Of Sound, London this coming Saturday (11th Oct). A massive session is planned to celebrate his fantastic year and the launch of his current Toolroom Knights album - of which we gave away a signed copy!

www.djmarkknight.com

Mark chatted about some new projects as well as enjoying the recognition he's had for his cover of the Laurent Garnier classic 'Man With A Red Face' that he released with Funkagenda - which has just been voted as Ibiza's number one track for 2008 in the recent DJ Awards.

Cahill were on the guest mix from 10pm, so all in all a cracker of a show for you lot. I hope you enjoyed it.

Here's my playlist:

No Halo 'Put Your Hands On' (Edit) (Hed Kandi)

Guru Josh Project 'Infinity 2008' (Edit) (Maelstrom)

Damian Wilson ft. Abigail Bailey 'Take Me Away' (Cr2)

Stockholm Syndrome 'Make You Whole' (Super-Superb)

Eric Prydz 'Pjanoo' (Sax Mix) (Data)

2 Tyme ft. Jennifer Jones 'Missing You' (Thomas Gold Remix) (Hard2Beat)

Love Over Money 'Keep On' (Restless Soul Mix) (Tone Control)

Robin Thicke ft. Mary J Blige 'Magic' (Moto Blanco Mix) (Interscope)

Eugene Wilde 'Fallin' (Global Harmony)

Mondotek 'Alive' (K-Klass Mix) (Hard2Beat)

Malibu Sneakers 'Get Down' (Original Vocal Mix) (Live)

Phonat 'Learn To Recycle' (4 To The Floor Mix) (MoFo HiFi)

Timbaland vs. Mixbuster 'Bootie'

Mark Knight & Funkagenda 'Done & Dusted' (Toolroom)

Mark Knight & Funkagenda 'Shogun' (Toolroom)
*Mark Knight Interview*

Mark Knight & Funkagenda 'Man With A Red Face' (Toolroom)

Onionz ft. SNOW 'Nothin But Love' (Funkerman Remix) (Toolroom)

Deadmau5 'Bye Friend' (Jump & Shout)

John Dahlback pres. Fatz 'Godfather' (Toolroom)

Point A. vs. Luke Dubyah 'Floordance' (White Label)

Tim Weeks 'Fashionably Late' (Toolroom)

+

Cahill Guest Mix

:: Lazy Like Sunday Morning ::

Lazy afternoons only come second to lazy Sunday mornings. I don't know about you, but there's nothing better than a very slow and lazy start to a Sunday. Maybe read the papers, a bit of soft tunage on the stereo and a croissant or two, all accompanied by a few espressos.

'Snoop Dog was feeling weally woof!'

No snooze time for me this Sunday, as I'm in for Daniel 'BH' Baker this weekend, covering his breakfast show on FIRE 107.6FM. I'll hopefully get a coffee in, and maybe a bacon bap (or two - ahem!), but I won't be sound asleep like this lucky old dawg!

Tune in to see if I manage to wake up for the show!

:: Moby Magic ::

Some great feedback as always for the tunes I push out on the FIRE evening session. This week, the 9pm mash-up featured electro versions of Timbaland, Coldplay, Christina Aguilera and Eurythmics! The guest mix came from fellow baldy-man Moby. Nice!

Here's my playlist:

Guru Josh Project 'Infinity 2008'

Stockholm Syndrome 'Make You Whole'

Liquid Nation ft. Andrea Britton 'Breathe Life'

Eric Prydz 'Pjanoo' (Alex Astero & Evan Sax Mix)

Marc Evans 'Reach Out'

Jon Cutler 'It's Yours'

Damian Wilson 'Take Me Away'

Hybrid 'Finished Symphony' (Deadmau5 Remix)

Energy 52 'Cafe Del Mar 08' (Dar Bruck & Klein Mix)

Timbaland 'Feel Electro' (Bootleg)

Coldplay 'Viva La Vida' (Bootleg)

Eurythmics 'Sweet Dreams' (Bootleg)

Christina Aguilera 'Dirty' (Bootleg)

Snap 'Rhythm Is A Dancer' (Tom Novy Remix)

Deadmau5 'Bye Friend'

Daft Punk 'Harder Better Faster Stronger' (Deadmau5 Mix)

Herve 'Cheap Thrills' (Armand Van Helden Remix)

Fake Blood 'Mars'

Point A. vs. Luke Dubyah 'Floordance'

Simian Mobile Disco 'Hustler'

+ Moby Guest Mix

Got to get up early on Sunday to cover the weekend breakfast show for Daniel 'BH' Baker. Eeek!

Catchyalata.

:: Tunes On Tuesday ::

Last night was a cracker of a show with masses of texts and calls to the studio. Thanks for getting involved. Lots of newbies last night and quite a few 'freshers' arriving in Bournemouth for their new University studies. Welcome!

Gonna be DJ'ing the big 'freshers' house night Espionage at The Old Firestation next Monday 29th Sept. Paul Wilkins (Hed Kandi) will be headlining and it's set to be another superb night of quality house tunes, a cool crowd, in a superb venue. Find me upstairs playing twisted house, so come and say hello.

As promised, here's last night's playlist. Catchya next week.

Guru Josh Project 'Infinity 2008' (Klass Vocal Remix) (Maelstrom)
Buzz Junkies ft. Alison Limerick 'Where Love Lives 08' (Buzz Junkies Club Mix) (AATW)
Anastacia 'I Can Feel You' (Max Sanna & Steve Pitron Remix) (Mercury)
Liquid Nation ft. Andrea Britton 'Breathe Life' (Chris Ortega & Thomas Gold Remix) (Hit!)
Moby 'Disco Lies' (Freemasons Remix) (Mute)
Louie Vega & Jay Sinister Sealee ft. Julie McKnight 'Diamond Life' (Defected)
Marc Evans 'Reach Out For Love' (ATFC Remix) (Defected)
ATFC 'Juss A Beat' (Defected)
Denis The Menace & Big World pres. Phillip Van Het Veld 'Show Me A Reason' (Tuna)
Greg Stainer 'Long Verb' (Kinky Malinki)
Delerium ft. Sarah McLachlan 'Silence o8' (Thomas Gold Remix) (Nettwerk)
Energy 52 'Cafe Del Mar' (Dah Bruck & Klein Remix) (AATW)
Picotto vs. Papini 'Gonna Get Ya (Big In Ibiza)
Fake Blood 'Mars' (Original) (Southern Fried)
Phonat 'Learn To Recycle' (On The Floor Remix) (MoFo HiFi)
Stockholm Syndrome 'Make You Whole' (Club Mix) (Super-Superb)
The Drill 'Piano Man' (Destined)
Richard Grey 'Warped Bass' (SS Remix) (Tiger)
Blendbrank 'Synthetic Symphony' (Global Underground)
UHM 'Our House' (SS Mash Up) (Secure)
Bart Claussen 'First Light' (White Label)
DJ Kit & Alex Nevsky 'Zombie Nation' (White Label)

:: iPhone baby! ::

I wonder if you can help me? I'm looking for a country in the world where it would be legal for me to marry my new iPhone!? I lurv it! Apple you are amazing!

I've been using Mac stuff since the IIci and continue to be amazed at the genius devices, interfaces and cool ideas that continually eminate from Apple HQ in Cupertino, California, USA. Johnny Ive should be knighted by the Queen. Nuff said.

As far as tunage goes, lots of 'Back for 08' material on the show next week, so join me on FIRE 107.6FM from 8pm, Tuesday night for your weekly dose of house, electro, beats, bleeps and tasty remixes. Listen online at: fireradio.co.uk

:: Herd it on the grapevine ::

This week's show featured a mix of new tunes, a modern classic, a couple of remixes and a brilliant special guest!

I was joined last night by Jason Herd, who is probably best known for being one-half of Herd & Fitz. However, it was clear from chattting to him that his future collaborations and signings on his own label 'J-Funk', mean that he's progressed far beyond his J-Soul days and earlier releases. The latest release 'The Right Way' sees him teaming up with Wawa and the superb vocal talents of Amanda Wilson.


This was only surpassed on the show last night by Jason giving us a sneaky listen to his 21st release 'Greenlight', which he's created with Pure Fire favourite Ben Macklin, and vocalist Steve Edwards. Quite a line up of tunes and quite a guest. We topped this off as usual by letting Jason loose on the FIRE airwaves for an hours guest mix. Pure quality for Tuesday night.

The playlist was a follows:
Guru Josh Project 'Infinity 08' (Klass Edit) ( Maelstrom)
Axwell & Bob Sinclar 'What A Wonderful World' (EDX Vocal Mix) (Defected)
Greg Stainer 'Long Verb' (Kinky Malinki)
Buzz Junkies ft. Alison Limerick 'Where Love Lives 08' (AATW)
Liquid Nation ft. Andrea Britton 'Breathe Life' (Chris Ortega & Thomas Gold Remix) (Hit!)
Damian Wilson ft. Anne Bailey 'Take Me Away' (DONS vs. DBN Remix) (Cr2)
Energy 52 'Cafe Del Mar 08' (Da Bruck & Klein Remix) (AATW)
Prok & Fitch 'New Wave' (Pure Fire Radio Edit) (Stealth)
The Drill 'Piano Man' (Destined)
Herd & Fitz ft. Abigail Bailey 'Just Can't Get Enough' (J-Funk)
Wawa & Herd ft. Amanda Wilson 'The Right Way' (Chris Ortega Remix) (J-Funk)
Jason Herd & Ben Macklin ft. Steve Edwards 'Greenlight' (J-Funk)
Moby 'Disco Lies' (Freemasons Remix) (Mute)
Farley 'Jackmaster' Funk 'Love Can't Turn Around 08' (Backyard)
Fake Blood 'Mars' (Southern Fried)
Phonat 'Learn To Recycle' (On The Floor Mix) (MoFo HiFi)
Stockholm Syndrome 'Make You Whole' (2008 Remix) (Super-Superb)
Picotto vs. Papini 'Gonna Get Ya (Chris MiMo Mix) (Big In Ibiza)
+
Guest Mix by Jason Herd.

Back next week for some more house, electro, beats, bleeps and remixes. Bye.

:: Breathe Life ::

I've been playing this for a while now, but have decided to blog about it in time for the weekend because it's been released for public consumption today. Liquid Nation (aka the Bassmonkeys) have come out with a real commercial dance tune, with a catchy vocal from Andrea Britton and a superb remix from Chris Ortega & Thomas Gold. Already sounding good on my radio shows and getting great reaction on the dancefloor it's available for download here.

Have a great weekend peeps.

:: Pure Fire / Mark Knight Guest Mix ::

Once again a stack of new tunes for you on my show last night, plus a great guest mix from Toolroom boss and tune wizard Mark Knight. Here's last night's playlist:

Soul Buddha ft. Lisa Millett 'Realize' (Vision Factory Remix) (Just For Fun)
Moby 'Disco Lies' (Freemasons Mix) (Mute)
Montanas & Roland Clark 'Music Talking' (Defected)
The Young Punx 'Fire' (Solitaire Remix) (MoFoHiFi)
The Drill 'Piano Man' (Destined)
Fake Blood 'Mars' (Cheap Thrills)
The Presets 'Talk Like That' (Dave Spoon Mix) (Modular)
Greg Stainer 'Long Verb' (Original Mix) (Kinky Malinki)
Energy 52 'Cafe Del Mar' (Out Of Office Remix) (AATW)
Phunk Investigation 'Your Love' (Absolutely)
Fanatix 'Call On Me' (Hed Kandi)
Ron Geffer 'Your Beat Sounds Like' (Hed Kandi)
Steve Mac 'Paddy's Revenge' (12" Club Mix) (3 Beat Blue)
Laidback Luke vs. The Korgis 'Need Your Lovin' (White Label)
Mason 'Quarter' (Original Mix) (Vendetta)
Erika Jayne 'Rollercoaster' (Mark Knight Remix) (Toolroom)
Blendbrank - Synthetic Symphony (Deadmau5 Remix) (Stealth)
Delerium ft. Sarah McLachlan 'Silence 08' (Niels van Gogh vs. Thomas Gold Remix) (Nettwerk)
Mike Di Scala & Colin Airey 'Space & Time' (Deadmau5 Vocal Remix) (3 Beat Blue)
LRD vs. Ce Ce Peniston 'Finally Jacques Your Body' (Mashed by The Mixbuster) (http://www.mixbuster.com/)

The very talented James Herkes is covering my show whilst I'm covering the Drive Time slot on FIRE. Count the number of Laidback Luke tunes he drops. I bet you he hits double figures! Ha!

:: Dave Spoon on FIRE ::

We keep smacking you around the head with the big name DJ's and producers on FIRE 107.6FM! This week's hard-hitting house hero was local-ish lad Dave Spoon. His current mix CD for Toolroom is fantastic and we managed a signed copy giveaway on my show last night, as well as broadcasting a 1 hour guest mix.

www.myspace.com/davespoon

Toolroom Knights - www.toolroomrecords.com - is a double mix CD by Dave, featuring quality tunes, brilliantly put together, showcasing some of his own tracks and remixes (88/Baditude/Liability) and other monsters from Toolroom Records (plus some partner labels). Considered to be one of the UK's most exciting new DJ/producers, the guest mix featuerd many of the same tracks and I personally felt it was one of the best we've ever broadcast.

The trouble is keeping this momentum going. I mean who can we get to top the last few guests on my show!? Well you'll just have to wait and see...

:: Prok & Fitch on FIRE ::

This week I hooked up with Prok & Fitch to talk about their new tunes, remixes and label. The boys were hard at work in a studio in Ibiza whilst everyone else was on the beach, but no complaints from Ben or James, as they're clearly both loving the opportunities that they've got going. Plenty of gigs, top quality productions, plus a genuine passion for the music, makes them a popular pair of very talented guys - just ask Roger Sanchez!

Prok & Fitch: Main Room @ The Honey Club, Brighton, UK.

I kicked off Prok & Fitch night on FIRE with their brilliant tune 'Camping' (Stealth). After the interview we featured their new tune 'New Wave' (Stealth), before broadcasting their brilliant guest mix at the end of the evening. It was great to catch up with Ben & James and it was clear that the FIRE audience were thrilled to hear from this dynamic duo. Thanks for your texts and calls.

Check out their label Floorplay and their MySpace page.

:: Laidback Luke on FIRE107.6FM ::

If you missed my radio show last night then shame on you! The extremely talented "thriller from Manila", Laidback Luke, joined me on the phone to discuss his current projects and play some of his latest tunes. He let us into some secrets of his production methods and told us how he originally hooked up with Daft Punk and Steve Angello. He also expalined how he gained his inspiration to create some of the spell-binding remixes we all love so much.

Luke van Scheppingen: aka Laidback Luke

It seems everyone who's into their dance tunes love Luke's work and the phone calls and texts to the studio last night proved what a popular guest for the show he was. Thanks for your feedback. All we need to do now is to get him to Bournemouth to 'Break The House Down'!

Luke's new tune: Laidback Luke & Tom Stephan ft. Romanthony 'Show' is a cracker! Go and buy it now! And look out for his new mix for Steve Angello due to surface any day!

My thanks to Luke for taking the time out to chat and for sharing so much with us.

:: illin' & chillin' ::

The Mixbuster massive went down to sunny Spain for a week of illin' & chillin'. I could show you the delights of Alicante (!) and the beautiful beaches of Calpe and the striking Altea hills, but instead I'm going to show you another in my series of airport terminals (see previous blog entries). You see, the life of a superstar DJ always seem to include ridiculous amounts of time waiting in airport terminals!

Aeropuerto-de-Alicante

Our Spanish break was great, apart from the bad weather (2 half days of sunshine), a lifetime of searching for the villa when we arrived and the freezing cold swimming pool! All the same, I now have a strong desire to turn my back on the UK, buy a villa in Spain and have my recording studio looking out over the mediterranean!

:: Ten out of Ten Velden ::

Previously on the blog I shouted about the great re-working of the Orbital's classic 'Chime' by The Shapeshifters.  Yesterday, those lovely record people at Defected chucked the tasty Martin Ten Velden remix my way.  First rotation was on last night's Pure Fire, before letting rip with it over the weekend.  First UK airplay?  Quite possibly.

Defected have also put together this great video for the original tune.

Enjoy it you Acid House monkeys!

:: 50,000 people used to live here... ::

If you have geek tendencies, or are clued up on your popular culture references, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about if I say:

"Fifty thousand people used to live here - now it's just a ghost town!"

Yes, I have finally succumbed to the 13 year old boy stuck inside my bald head and bought a Playstation 3. Being a complete petrolhead, I've mainly bought the PS3 to race cars (Grid/GT5 Prologue), but I have unsurprisingly been sucked into the world of online gaming and in particular, the awesome 'Call Of Duty 4:Modern Warfare'.

"Oi, have you seen Soap?" "No mate, try the shower!"

A visually stunning first person shoot'em up, that takes you on an intense ride of missions and challenges. The graphics, gameplay, action and plot are all highly convincing and the speed with which the action takes place makes your heart race.

As a complete novice I'm absolutely rubbish, but it doesn't seem to matter in this parallel world of Special Ops and covert missions abroad.  Just sign up as a new recruit, get battling online with your mates, or at home on your own, and blow sh#t up!

:: Shifting Shapes ::

I've now got two new quality productions from The Shapeshifters on heavy rotation. They've brilliantly re-worked the seminal 'Chime' by Orbital, as part of their Treadstone E.P.  I know lots of people may not like the idea of Orbital being tampered with, but I'd rather hear a quality remix of this tune, by quality producers, rather than a half-arsed bootleg of the original 12" matched to a naff drum loop.

The Shapeshifters have also come out with a fantastic remix of Todd Terry's 'Get Down'. I've consistently used the original Kenny Dope mix to warm up an audience, but now Simon & Max breathe a jacking bassline and lots of space into this cracking tune.

Top work fellas.

:: 4 Minutes To Save Pjanoo ::

As featured on tonight's radio show, my latest mash-up is now online for you to grab. Go to the downloads section and help yourself.

Madonna vs. Pryda '4 Minutes To Save Pjanoo' by THE MIXBUSTER.

The brilliant pop partnership of Madonna and Justin Timberlake '4 Minutes To Save The World' meets the epic club anthem 'Pjanoo' from Eric 'Pryda' Prydz. This bootie is already getting a great response from DJ mates and a fantastic dancefloor reaction, so thank you. Download, turn it up, and enjoy!

:: Rickrollerz ::

The Rickrollerz 'Never Gonna Give You Up' (Strangers2Love)

There's an amzing buzz surrounding this remix of the 80's classic 'Never Gonna Give You Up' by ex-tea boy Rick Astley. This was and still is a massive party tune and was undoubtedly ripe for a noughties remix. The whole project apparently came from the internet craze of 'Rick-Rollering', where spam email links take visitors to the original video. The producers apparently got caught up in this craze and decided to re-work this wedding disco favourite. Personally, I don't believe a word of it!

I can't help but think that it's been a genius piece of viral marketing from the record company right from the beginning. PWL (Pete Waterman Limited), created hits for Rick Astley, Mel & Kim, Kylie, Jason, Bananarama, Dear Or Alive etc... and were masters of marketing in their hey-day. For example, in 1987 there was a white label 12" import that was being passed around DJ's and dance music fans of a supposed cool underground track from the USA called 'Roadblock'. It turned out to be the clever little scamps at PWL. Many, many, many people fell for the campaign before the track hit the shops under the group name of SAW (Stock, Aitken and Waterman) and 'Roadblock' became a massive hit for them, just like everything else they touched.

Welcome back Mr. Astley and perhaps I should say welcome back Pete and the PWL hit factory! ;¬)

:: Plastic Bag vs. Paper Bag ::

Charging the public for carrier bags is another example of ill-thought out and ill-advised decision making. Whilst shopping the other day for a lunchtime snack I was charged 10 pence for requiring two small plastic carrier bags to transport my purchases. Being a bloke, I don’t tend to walk about carrying a handbag, or any spare plastic carrier bags! So, chances are I will always have to purchase one when suddenly deciding to buy a snack, or a new shirt! Unless of course I:

a) Keep a plastic bag in my pants for emergency use.
b) Acquire a man-bag/bum-bag/fannypack....
c) Stop shopping completely and survive by eating my own waste.

Whilst I am happy to help attack the huge problem of non-biodegradable plastic carrier bags littering the planet, I fail to see how charging punters is a solution. Surely it would be better to use paper bags!? Paper is bio-degradeable and the bags can be made from already re-cycled paper waste.

John Lennon's inspiration for his 'Plastic Oh No Ban'!

Incensed by this thought and feeling the pain again in my wallet as Gordon Brown (yes, he gets the blame) and the corporate suits steal more of my hard-earned wedge, I went home and hit the web for some answers. It seems that the paper bag manufacturers are quite angry too. See here.

However, it seems that the plastic bag is not really the true villain and that they are more eco-friendly than first thought. See here.

It did occur to me whilst I was in the queue to buy my limp over-priced sandwich, a packet of crisps, a fruit smoothie, a 3 pack of socks and a slice of the most amazing chocolate flapjack in the world, that the packaging enclosing my purchases was far more harmful to the environment than the sodding bags I was about to be charged for!

My whole experience was brilliantly punctuated by a very lad-di-da lady in front of me in the queue, who loaded her shopping into hessian re-useable bags and walked purposefully out of the shop with an air of eco-authority. I followed her with my purchases swinging in my 10 pence plastic bags, thinking about how this whole issue was perfect material for my blog. I then watched as the posh-eco-woman clambered into her Porsche Cayenne (4.8 litre, V8 petrol, averaging 14mpg) and booted it up the high street! Shall I explain it to her, or will you?

:: Intro-Inspection ::

If only you could have seen the huge smile on my face when I played out the brilliant 'Intro-Inspection' by Osymyso on my radio show last night on FIRE 107.6FM. I've wanted to give this incredible production some exposure from when I first picked it up in 2002. Last night, the time was right. The FIRE audience were ready, and wow they really enjoyed it! I was inundated with texts and emails, so thank you if you got in touch.

~

Mark 'Osymyso' Nicholson's creation, 'Intro-Inspection' features 101 intros to popular songs, blended together into the biggest pop quiz challenge you'll ever face! Even though this mix has been around for years, it has really only been DJ's and mix fans that have had the pleasure of enjoying this mind-melting 12 minutes of madness! Being able to share it with the FIRE audience last night was great and made me very happy indeed, as that's what the PURE FIRE slot (from 8pm Mon > Fri) is about and is what makes FIRE unique amongst the blandness of UK radio.

Check out Osymyso's other work on his website. Quirky is probably the best word to describe Mark's work, with his Eastenders creation 'Pat'n'Peg' still one of my all time favourite Osymyso productions. Long may he reign as one of the kings of the pop culture/mash-up scene.

The full tracklisting for Intro-Inspection is here.

:: P...p...p...pick up a penguin ::

I'm not a fan of April Fools gags. Mainly because they're normally rubbish aren't they!? A classic from years ago was when the BBC's Panorama programme duped viewers into believing that spaghetti was harvested from trees. See the clip here. (It really isn't if you're having to think about that.)

This year, the BBC surpassed themselves with the following news bulletin.

I saw this first thing yesterday morning on the BBC News 24 breakfast show and thoroughly enjoyed watching Bill Turnbull and Sian Williams only just managing to maintain their poker faces! The production took weeks of filming, 3d modelling and green-screen wizadry, with the icing on the cake being the cameo role by Terry 'Python' Jones. As spoofs go, it's a classic! See how it was made here.

:: Simon Says ::

Click to Play!

Let's go back to the 80's with this great online version of SIMON. When the original game came out, my school friends at the time enjoyed taking the mickey out of me for having the same name as this bleeping copycat toy. Kids are weird aren't they?

Kid: Err you've got the same name as this game!
Me: So what!
Kid: Yeah but your name is the same!
Me: (Sigh)
Kid: That means you're a 'SIMON'!
Me: (Double Sigh)

Well I guess that's why that individual is digging holes for a living and I'm sat in my luxury beachside apartment, blogging about retro-games, whilst waiting for the limo to take me to the airport, so I can fly to the Miami Winter Music Conference.

Dream on.

I never had a 'SIMON' myself, but I vividly remember playing with one at a party as a kid and completely nailing it. I'd love one now in my studio that I could use to trigger samples. If you're a techy-geek capabable of re-wiring a 'SIMON' to trigger 'midi' signals then drop me a line. I wouldn't mind a Speak 'n' Spell re-wired to say nothing but expletives as well. Ta.

:: Operation Nomenclature ::

Have you ever wondered who dreams up the silly names for Police investigations? You know, like Operation Ramsbottom, Operation Dangleberry or Operation Biffin-Bridge? No I haven't either, but I was very intrigued to find out that the coppers don't all sit in a room and think up the names themselves. Which is a real shame isn't it!?

Bobby 1: Right let's call it 'Operation We Are Gonna Nick You'.
Bobby 2: Nah mate, 'Operation Druggy Scumbag'!
Bobby 3: What about 'Operation Anyone Fancy A Pint'?

Instead, all of the titles come from a pre-approved list.

The list includes names of exotic birds and towns on the South Coast of the UK. Operation Boscombe anyone?


"You pick one off the list," said Bob Cox, the retired head of press with the Metropolitan Police, in a recent interview for the BBC. "The aim is to choose names that are completely neutral so they will hopefully be totally unrelated to the case."

This guy here has bizzarely compiled a list of the names and what that particular operation covered. A very strange thing to create, but quite an intersting read.

:: Bumblebee ::

I've not had much time to kick back and relax, due to a hectic home, work, studio, and show schedule. However, the other night I managed to sit back and enjoy a DVD that 'she who shall be obeyed' bought me for Christmas. Now don't laugh you lot, but it's 'Transformers'!

I never watched the cartoon as a kid and never saw the film at the cinema, so I was very surprsied that 'she who shall be obeyed' had chosen this as a gift to commemorate the birth of a sandal wearing bloke called J O Nazareth. But lucky old me, coz the film was brilliant!

A great performance from Shia LaBeouf, plus fantastic CGI and the best looking American muscle car to hit the silver screen since Steve McQueen's 1968 'Bullit' Mustang GT390 Fastback .

Bumblebee 2008 style: The new Chevy Camaro. Sweet!

By all accounts, Shia LaBeouf is set to be a 'big' future star in Hollywood. This statement is supported by the fact that he's got a lead role in the new Indiana Jones movie, set for release in May 2008.

Whilst I'm waiting for the new Indy film, I'll be daydreaming about cruising around town in a new bumblebee spec Camaro. The V8 burble, the cool tunes, sticky rubber on hot tarmac and a fuel bill the size of a small third world countries debts! Oh well, back to the V8 burble...

:: Revenge On Disco ::

Here's another quick gem: I'm going to play a very hot new track on tonight's radio show (Tue 18th Mar 08). The Freemasons have remixed the 90's classic Gusto 'Disco's Revenge', and it is absolutely spot on!

Be listening at 8pm tonight to hear the Brighton Boys do their best remix yet. Has anyone else played this yet? I seriously doubt it.

Get in.

:: Pryda's Pjanoo ::

Alright you lot. I know I keep going on about this track and that I've been battering it to death everywhere, but it is absolutely flippin' brilliant! The hugely talented Eric Prydz has at last released 'Pjanoo', a monsterous house tune that is pure piano perfection for the dancefloor.

"Oi Prydz! Compo wants his hat back!"

Released under his PRYDA name, on his own label, you can download it now and warm your soul with a tune that shows the rest of us how it's done. Props to Pryda.

Check it out here.

By blogging this momentus occasion, I now promise to stop mentioning how amazing this tune is.

Promise.

:: Mash It Up Grandma! ::

I am often asked to show people how to mix tunes. And more recently, people always want to know how to create mash-up's or remix a track into an electro-house stormer! Even though I love teaching people and can quite easily talk for hours about razor blading 1/4" Ampex tape, feedback looping on an EFX1000, or the wonderment of Logic Pro, it can get a little tiresome showing someone the basics of beat-matching vinyl!

But my saviour has arrived in the form of USA Grandma, Sue Teller. She has thankfully created this handy video tutorial demonstrating the basics of creating a mash-up on the wheels of steel. Hilarious!

Enjoy!

:: Espionage ::

This looks like a mighty fine new house night for Bournemouth's student and clubbing fraternity. Mission have gone for a Monday launch night (3rd March) at The Old Fire Station, on Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth.

What a line-up!? ;¬)

See ya there.

:: Rallye Sunseeker 08 ::

The Sunseeker Winter Rally (or as the organsiers are determined to name it 'Rallye Sunseeker') hits the Bournemouth Gardens at 6pm on Friday 22nd Feb. Yep, you can witness the first stage of this event as a selection of amateur and professional rally drivers attempt to negotiate the paths of the central gardens at some serious speeds! The cars career down the narrow pathways, swing past the Pavillion Theatre, shoot under the fly-over and head off down the beach promenade, roaring past the mulit-coloured beach huts. Awesome and totally free to watch!

Quicker than your average Hyunadi...

The favourite has got to be local fella Marcus Dodd (multiple British National Champion) in his Hyundai Accent! I kid you not! It's not your basic run-about though, as this car has been prepared to WRC standards. Also, keep an eye out for the Metro 6R4's and the Landrover Wolfs.

For more information hit up the Rallye Sunseeker website.

For rally updates, tune in to my radio show on FIRE 107.6 throughout Saturday afternoon.

:: Needy Girl ::

I am simply loving the latest offering from Chromeo. 'Needy Girl' smacks of the 80's and has a synth hook that just sticks in your brain and refuses to leave.

The main remix is by Lifelike who has, I'm sure, used a sample from a fantastic 80's 12" 'Wired To The Beat Of The Drum' by Wired. I bought this track in a tiny record store in downtown Houston, Texas - and I have cherished it ever since, fully expecting to sample it myself. Unsurprsingly, it has been targeted by the supremly talented Laurent (aka Lifelike) and put to great use.

For those of you across the pond in Canada and the US of A, I'm fully aware that you've had Chromeo's 'Needy Girl' on your playlists since 2004. Why didn't you tell us earlier damn you!

:: Abarth Are Back ::

I've never owned a Fiat, but this little thing looks very tasty indeed! The Abarth team have clearly excelled and it is great for car enthusiasts around the world to be able to see the Scorpion badge on a car bonnet again. In my opinion it's probably one of the best car emblems ever!



I doubt if the Abarth 500 is going to be a serious contender to the Cooper S, or the suspected new hot Fiesta due out later this year, but let's hope the Abarth 500 shakes things up a bit in the small hot hatch market!

:: Watchin' My Bleeding Love ::

Up for grabs now is my mash-up of the fantastic Freemasons track 'Watchin', with music from the Leona Lewis smash hit 'Bleeding Love'. The vocalist is Amanda Wilson who worked with Russell (free) and James (mason) on their first two singles, 'Love On My Mind' and 'Watchin'.

Freemasons: James Wiltshire & Russell Small

The Freemasons have an amazing track record at the moment. They have not only produced a stack of dance floor gems, the last one being the Bailey Tzuke cover of 'Uninvited', but they have also transformed R 'n' B tracks into dance floor smashes for Beyonce Knowles and most recently Kelly Rowland. Talented, professional and with a midas touch, I am a huge fan of what the Brighton residents have achieved and hopefully they'll approve of this fun bootleg with X-Factor winner Leona Lewis.

Here it is: Freemasons vs. Leona Lewis 'Watchin My Bleeding Love'

:: Club Mix 2007 online now! ::

My 60 minute 'Megamix' of the biggest dance tunes of 2007 is now available to download here. The mix was featured as part of The Mixbuster show on FIRE 107.6, which took the listeners into the New Year. Go and grab it now and give your ears a damn good thrashing! The tracklisting is available here.

Hopefully this monster mix session will float your boat. Any feedback would be really appreciated. If you'd like a CD of the mix then drop me a line. You can eMail me here.

If you like it enough to give me some work, then my bank manager and I would love you forever!

Enjoy.

Simon

:: A Hero Returns ::

Less than 24 hours to go until the End Of Year and Club Mixes for 2007 are broadcast on FIRE 107.6. Check out the 4hr Mixbuster marathon on both Christmas Eve, 8pm 'til midnight, and New Years Eve, 10pm 'til 2am. Listen online at fireradio.co.uk.

My thanks to everyone who 'texted' the radio show, 'pinged' me an email, 'messaged' me via this blog, 'downloaded' my stuff, added' me on MySpace and cheered and screamed at me in 2007. Thanks for your support.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Simon

:: Coming soon... ::

Coming soon...

:: A Mixbusting Xmas Bonanza ::

As we head off towards the winter season of dark nights and even darker tunes, it can only mean one thing for The Mixbuster. It's time to be locked into the studio with a plentiful supply of Jaffa Cakes and CD's, and to not be released from captivity until the traditional 'End Of Year Mix' has been created for FIRE 107.6.

Just before the lockdown begins, I can tell you that this year is going to be an overdose of Mixbuster mayhem! A 'Club Mix' will join the now legendary chart-based 'End Of Year Mix', to be the soundtrack for both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve on FIRE 107.6.  The 'Club Mix', will include all the massive dance tunes of 2007, as well as some surprises!

For more information: fireradio.co.uk & mixbuster.com

:: Billy's Back! ::

There seems to have been an abundance of dance tunes released this year that featured artists of an established age! We've had tracks remixing and sampling Pink Floyd, The Police, Foreigner, Liquid Gold and Earth, Wind & Fire. One of the most talked about and one that is just about to hit the UK's sound sytems is a re-working of White Wedding by Billy Idol. This 80's classic has been mashed up with a 90's synth riff from the Bassheads and has all the components for greatness on the dancefloor. Heavy beats, a thick old bassline (courtesy of Jack Rokka) and a decent wad of nostalgia for the punters old enough to remember Mr.Peroxide the first time around.

Mixed reactions from dancefloors and DJ's so far, but I think that this track will break nicely for Frenetic and be part of your winter partying.

Trashcan Jack vs. Billy Idol - Club Wedding (freneticmusic.com)

:: Extreme Caterpillaring ::

The Gadget Show Team: Jon, Jason & Suzi

In my last journal entry I declared my allegiance to the sci-fi tv show Heroes, which is currently taking great ratings on BBC 2. My weekly tv viewing has now been helped along with the return of the techno-geeks favourite fix!

The Gadget Show on channel 5 is a must if you like your technology. Now into season 7, it's great to have Suzi Perry, Jason Bradbury and Jon Bentley back on the telly to inform all the gadget-eers of the best and worst products in tech-town, or geek-ville if you'd prefer.

I loved this idea from Jason Bradbury's website:



Jason Bradbury wants to test viral marketing. The idea being that you use places like YouTube to infest yourself or your product into peoples inboxes and minds. Just go to Jason's website - www.jasonbradbury.com - to read about the project and enjoy the trio's brilliant banter every Monday, on Channel 5.

:: Save The Cheerleader ::

Wednesday nights are now sacred.

This isn't like me at all, but I am absolutely hooked on the tv drama HEROES. What a fantastic show!

Created by Tim Kring, Heroes tells the story of a group of people who thought they were like everyone else... until they realised that they have a range of special powers. The story begins to unravel and spin-off into multiple plotlines, where the 'special ones' begin to see that they all have a role in preventing an epic event and therefore save humanity.




Told in a comic book style the characters are refreshingly different, the production quality immense and the story quite gripping. Let's hope this continues. I just wish I'd caught this the first time when it was broadcast on the Sci-Fi channel at the beginning of the year. 4.3 million UK viewers tuned in to BBC 2 last week, which meant that for the first time in 10 years it surpassed BBC 1 in the rating wars.

BBC 2 will begin broadcast of season 2 in December.

:: Terminal Illness #3 ::

Regular blog readers will know why I'm posting this picture. This is Madrid. Nice!

:: Feelin' Cranky ::

You wait an age for a decent local venue to provide your night out with top-flight DJ's and dance-acts, and then suddenly your world virtually implodes due to the A listers on the billing each and every week.

I'm talking about a new night, at a new venue in Bournemouth, which is exploding with talent (both female and musical) every friday night from NOW!

Bedbug @ Crank is the place to be if you want to catch the world's premier DJ's and dance producers doin' their thing. Seriously, I doubt any other provincial town has weekly billing like this:

28th Sep - Armand Van Helden
5th Oct - Axwell
12th Oct - D Ramirez and Mark Knight (OMG!)
19th Oct - Steve Angello
26th Oct - Seb Fontaine & Dirty South
2nd Nov - Sebastian Ingrosso
9th Nov - Pete Tong
16th Nov - The Shapeshifters & The Beatthiefs
23rd Nov - Sander Kleinenberg
30th Nov - Above & Beyond
7th Dec - Micky Slim, Dave Spoon & Jon Gurd

Hats off to Bedbug and the Crank-ies for sorting out these mind-blowing events. My tip would be not to miss D. Ramirez & Mark Knight spinning their own creations, or the opportunity to see Oz-wonderkid Dirty South make a very rare appearance in the UK.

:: New Mixes Online ::

As the summer season wraps and the temperature starts to drop there's only one thing on my mind. Dust!

I've got loads of new tunes to get through, as well as a stack of emails, before even thinking about getting my record bag sorted, or working on some new productions! I've been away a lot recently and my studio is a complete tip! Not like me and my obsessive compulsive streak at all! So, no new creations until I sort out this mess.

Oh well, whilst I get the Dyson to work, why not visit my 'Downloads' section and grab some of my recent mash-ups and remixes. I've just added my house remix of ABBA's 'Dancing Queen', entitled the 'Anybody Could Be That Guy Remix'. I've had some really cool feedback already and luckily no snotty letter from any Swedish lawyers.

Also up for grabs is my electro re-working of the 80's classic 'I Just Died In Your Arms' by the brilliant Cutting Crew. This managed to get the thumbs up from founder/lead singer Nick Van Eede, so it's as close to a legal release as I'll ever get!

I've also added the Axwell vs. Roger Sanchez (ft Armand Van helden and N'dea Davenport) mash-up that has been getting a lot of exposure. Enjoy!

Feedback always welcome.

Right,where's my feather duster!?

:: In The Mix & On The Beat ::

As our modern lives place us for longer and longer in front of our computers, why not have some great music to accompany you whilst you click 'n' surf. Global internet radio station BEAT 365 is a project that I've had the pleasure to be involved with since its earliest conception, so I was delighted to do a live session for them last friday night.

A 30 minute segment of my live mix is available as a download. It includes some very, very upfront material that has yet to get UK airplay!

Make sure you give BEAT 365 a go. It's a wicked station, running on zero funds, so please give them some support by logging on.

Enjoy!

:: Get Ready ::

I've had a great Summer of mixing and mashing, even though the weather has been pants! You wait though, September is going to be a cracker! One thing that has boosted my morale has been the incredible response for my ABBA remix.

I've also had some great feedback on some of my most recent mash-ups. Thank you if you took the time to email me, comment via MySpace, or text the radio show. I will be uploading some of these mash-ups for your sticky-mitts over the next few weeks, so get ready to grab!

Keep smiling.

:: Terminal Illness #2 ::

As I travel the globe as an 'international man of mystery', 'holiday-maker', 'superstar DJ', 'assassin', or 'trolley-dolly' (delete as appropriate), I have to put up with the mind-melting monotony of being held hostage in ghastly airport terminals that seem to exist in every country. Admittedly, this one tries to entertain you with a train ride between terminals. It doesn't work. It's still very, very boring.

This months featured terminal: Gatport Airwick.

:: Where's the Summer? ::

Some great new releases have hit my decks just in time for this late Summer sunshine!? Here's a brief round-up:

The legend that is Betty Boo is back! Do you remember 'Doing The Do'? Well if you do then you must be really, really old! (cough, cough, cough.....) The gorgeous Miss Boo, aka Alison, has teamed up with producer Jack Rokka to release this cracking electro pounding dance track onto the UK's unsuspecting dancefloors.

D.Ramirez & Mark Knight are two of the most talented dance music producers on the planet. They have had a new track 'Columbian Soul' bubbling away for a while now. If you want to dabble in the world of electronica then go and dig this out as a great way to be introduced into the dark world of beats, bleeps and bass. Oh yes, and they're coming to town soon...

Vee Scott is the first real vocal house track to appear for Summer 07. Lots of industry types were getting very excited about this track. A brilliant balance of happy vocals and uplifting house loops. A perfect track for the barmy summer nights!

If you've listened to my radio shows, you've probably heard me pushing the Bournemouth based production/breaks trio Aquasky. A new venture from them is 'Dirty Boy' by The Stereo Hookers. Put simply, this is a brilliant track, with catchy lyrics and a great guest remix from Steve Mac.

And finally, Dutch duo Hi_Tack are back and they have quite simply surpassed themselves with their remix of David Bowie's 'Let's Dance'. Bowie quite rightly loves it and has given it his full blessing. It's a great commercial dance tune that is going to introduce yet another generation to the genius that is Ziggy Stardust. All together now: "Ground control to Major Tom...."

Cheers.

:: Tonight's Mixbuster ::

Tonight's Mixbuster session is now available online. Featuring tracks by Moby, Mylo, Black Riot, Basement Jaxx, Madison Avenue, Goldtrixx, De Nuit, Reflekt, Criminal Element orchestra, Benny Benassi, Lovefreekz and Touche. However, the most feedback on the studio text was for my Tony Christie mash-up which featured at the end of the mix!

I'm not planning on making it available as a separate mash-up, so grab it in this exclusive (18 min) mix whilst you can!

The Mixbuster on FIRE 107.6 (Tuesday 14th August 2007)

As always, thanks for all the support.

:: Cutting Crew Remix and Chat ::

Regulars will know that I remixed the Cutting Crew's 80's classic 'I Just Died In Your Arms' this year, turning it into an electro-house track. I managed to get full support from the lead singer Nick Van Eede for my re-working, of which I was very excited and very honoured.

Earlier in the year, I interviewed Nick for a radio show on Beat 365, with fellow DJ and bezzie mate Paul Stevens. Meeting Nick and hearing the epic original, spurred me on to re-mould it for the modern dance-floor.

To hear the interview with Nick Van Eede, visit the Beat 365 website and go to the podcasts section.

To hear the remix, go here. Why not sign up as a MySpace buddy whilst you're there?

:: Homer's My Hero ::

Fans of The Simpsons have only had to wait 18 years for this week. Along with the genius of The Simpsons Movie, make sure you visit the website www.simpsonsmovie.com. It is probably one of the best websites EVER!

:: Munich ::

Munich International

Continuing the series of photographs depicting Airport Terminals from around the world, where my time has been wasted! This month, Munich, Germany. Saying that, it was quite pleasant and that concourse would make a fantastic venue for a party!

:: New Mixes ::

Hi,

Check out some new mixes by following this link.

www.myspace.com/mixedbysimonsinfield

Why not 'add' me as a MySpace friend whilst you're there?

For more information go to www.simonsinfield.com.

Feedback always welcome.

Cheers,

Simon

:: Anybody Could Be That Guy ::

One of the reasons I'm so passionate about music is the way it can really transform the way you feel. When you create music, whether it be playing in a band, singing along to the radio or mixing records, the vibe you get and the achievement and excitement of making it sound good can be a real buzz.

My remix of ABBA's 'Dancing Queen' fell together quickly and I felt that the mixture of samples and loops slotted together in one of those eureka moments. Somtimes you just know when a track is gonna work and hopefully you'll agree.

Sadly, bearing in mind that Madonna had to pay the ABBA empire a reputed £2m to use their 1979 'Gimme Gimme' sample for 'Hung Up', I'm sure that I'm heading for a rather large fall by messing with the true kings of pop and highly unlikely to get the samples cleared for release. But heh, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Check it out here. Feedback, as always, very welcome.

Dancing Queen (The Anybody Could Be That Guy Remix by Simon Sinfield)

:: ...and in with the new ::

Welcome to the new home of Bournemouth & Poole's FIRE 107.6FM.

The new building is great. We now have a proper reception area, our own stairs, loos, a kitchen and office space with natural daylight! And of course, we have two sparkly new studios. Woo hoo!

It's not finished yet and everything is very chaotic but this is an amzing time to be involved in a radio station that really is the heart and soul of the party in the area.

Congratulations to all involved who made this possible.

Photo to follow as I can't get my flippin' camera to talk to the PC!

:: Out with the old... ::

After nearly 9 years in the centre of town, FIRE 107.6FM is on the move. We are moving out of town (slightly) to a new building where we will get a visitors reception area, new kit and amazingly, windows and natural light! The poor FIRE sales team, as well as the on air team, have endured years of working in a basement. As an evening jock, I just pop in and out, so I have no real understanding of what it has been like to work in the bowels of the Quadrant shopping centre. However, I imagine it was pretty ghastly.

So bye bye FIRE studios, with your crappy decor, thread-bear carpet and dark and dingy corridors.

Hello new FIRE building...

:: Terminal Illness ::

I'm fed up with sitting in airport terminals. It's not so much the environment you are trapped in, but the complete and utter waste of time and rip-off prices we all have to endure. They've basically got you by the short and curlies haven't they!? There are obviously good terminals and bad ones, so I'm going to capture them here as I go on my travels as an international ambassador for the wheels of steel!

'Drop another phat tune the floor is packed!'

There are obviously good terminals and bad ones, so I'm going to capture them here as I go on my travels as an international ambassador for the wheels of steel!

No photographs of romantic locations or city landscapes from me. Oh no people, you're gonna get pictures of the places that I seem to spend most of my time when I have to travel. Welcome to the my Airport Terminals of the World. (You see, this is what terminal boredom makes you do!)

:: eBike ::

The Enertia Bike

Having recently entered a trial separation from motorcycling, this amazing product caught my attention this week.

Enertia Bike on You Tube

The Enertia Bike is designed and built by US firm Brammo Motorsports. The same company responsible for the Ariel Atom. The Enertia Bike uses lithium-ion phosphate batteries and is intended as a commuter vehicle. Perhaps this could be the real answer to city congestion, carbon foot-prints and the scourge of the Chelsea tractor!?

It's no good if you live in the sticks or have to drive 20,000 miles a year like me, but a fantastic way to zip around town and just totally cool as well.

Check out their website: enertiabike.com

:: 30 min DJ set ::

I don't normally put 'tune to tune' mixes on the website for download, preferring to put up the Mixbuster creations or my own tunes and remixes. However, I have posted a 30 minute DJ set recorded live that I did recently, as I've been hounded by some friends to provide them with some tunes for their iPods. Go grab it here: Electro House Set (April 06)

:: Unacceptable In The 80's ::

Last week I asked the FIRE listeners to suggest some 80's tunes to go into a quick mix-up of the Calvin Harris track 'Acceptable In the 80's'. It seemed an obvious thing to do. Choose some classic 80's records and mix them up with the slightly quirky hit from Dumfries DJ,Calvin Harris, and take the listeners back in time to 1985!

www.myspace.com/calvinharristv

Lots of suggestions came in on the studio text and via email, so a big thank you to everyone who submitted their suggestions. The mix was chucked together with some movie samples from that era and it went zinging across the FIRE airwaves 7 days later.

It got some great reaction, so thank you for your feedback.

If you missed it and fancy a bit of a laugh, then go grab it now from the downloads section here.

Unacceptable In The 80's by THE MIXBUSTER

Tracklisting:

Calvin Harris - Acceptable In The 80's (2007)

Prince - Raspberry Beret (1985)

Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (1983)

Japan - Quiet Life (1979)

Duran Duran - The Reflex (1984)

Duran Duran - Planet Earth (1981)

Duran Duran - Girls On Film (1981)

Thompson Twins - Love On Your Side (1983)

Cutting Crew - (I Just Died) In Your Arms (1986)

Yazoo - Situation (1982)

Paul Hardcastle - 19 (1985)

FGTH - Relax (1983)

Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls (1984)

ABC - Look Of Love (1982)

Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (1987)

Van Halen - Jump (1984)
Movie samples taken from:
Back To the Future (1985)
Pump Up The Volume (1990)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Top Gun (1986)

:: Aquasky Exclusive! ::

My radio show last night featured a special guest who I was delighted to welcome back onto the FIRE airwaves. One third of Aquasky, Dave Wallace, joined me for a live interview and mixing session. As a genuine fan of their work it was a great opportunity to find out more about the history of the trio, get the lowdown on their new tunes and check out the latest releases on their record labels - Passenger/777.

Dave then spun up some exclusives for the FIRE audience, starting with a wicked breaks-booty - allegedly delivered to the Aquasky office that very morning - as well as spinning up a sneaky preview of a track from their forthcoming album. If you missed it then all I can say is the new album is going to be a rock solid helping of hard hitting beats and phat bassline breaks. Pure class from one of the pioneers of the genre!

A big thanks to Dave for popping down and rinsing out some quality tunes. Please show the guys some respect at www.aquasky.co.uk and sign up as their MySpace friend here. You can also show your love for all things Aquasky by voting for them across multiple categories for this years Breaks Awards - Breakspoll 07. Go to www.breakspoll.com

Keep checking out my show on FIRE 107.6 to hear more quality house, electro, bootlegs and breaks.

:: Space Mix ::

I wanted to launch the new year with a mix in the 'download' section, that means an awful lot to me. I've put up an epic mix (it was to fill a 20 minute slot on the radio) that I created a couple of years ago for Chris Bailey (Ministry Of Sound). Chris featured one of my mixes each week on his radio show at the time. This particular mix gained an amazing reaction and kept Chris very busy with phone calls to the studio, whilst he blasted it out over the airwaves and the monitors in the studio. The comments from the callers and the amazing support from the brilliant Mr. Bailey was a wonderful moment for me, and one that I'll never forget.
The 'Space Mix' a homage to the original DMC producers who inspired and influenced me greatly. Paul Dakeyne, Ben Liebrand and Steve Anderson all created (and still produce) incredible and defining productions. There are many DJ's across the world who will credit these guys with influencing them through the monthly special mix package from DMC. This mix (with a sci-fi theme) was really me attempting to capture a style of megamixing that they invented, mastered and mesmerised their audiences with.

It's a big mp3 file coz it's up at 192kbps, but hopefully you'll think it's worth the download time and that you'll appreciate it as much as the callers on the radio that night and as much as I enjoyed piecing it together.

Simon

:: Pimped for 2007 ::

Welcome to 2007. A year that will hopefully be yet another wicked year for great dance music and one that will fill your world with great and gorgeous experiences. I just want to say thanks for all of your support last year and in the words of Bill S. Preston esq and Ted 'Theodore' Logan (aka Bill & Ted), let us all "Party on dudes"!

I've started the year with a well earned rest after some serious mashing, mixing and mayhem over the Christmas period. I was also attacked by the stomach bug from hell. I'll refrain from the details, but it was real ugly!

I've just 'pimped' my MySpace page and have gathered some great new buddies. Thanks if you are one of 'em. MySpace is incredibly addictive and is now alongside eBay in my world of daily online surfing. Check it out here (www.myspace.com/simonsinfield) and sign up damn you!

So what's up for 2007 I hear you ask? Well, I'm in pursuit of some funky new production projects, as well as working on my radio shows. I'm also going to get back out on the circuit later on this year after a short sabbatical. So expect some plugging on here and in MySpace around April. For bookings contact: zonemedia@mac.com

Finally, let me give you a couple of guidelines for this year:
1) Turn the volume up
2) Say 'Yes' more (Danny Wallace we salute you.)
3) If in doubt, smile.

Catchyalata.

:: The Mixbuster Is Back ::

The Mixbuster is back on the Fire 107.6 airwaves this Christmas holiday. A special 2 hour non-stop mix of the hits of 2006 will feature as part of Fire's festive output.

Mixing and mashing over fifty of this year's biggest hits, including: Snow Patrol, The Feeling, Pussycat Dolls, Robbie, Muse, Lemar, James Morrison, Scissor Sisters, Jamelia, Pharell, and Take That. The Mixbuster returns to melt and remould some of the biggest hits of 2006 for your very own Christmas Party.

Catch this very special (commercial free) 'End Of year Mix 2006' on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve on Fire 107.6. Or listen online at www.fireradio.co.uk.

:: House Party ::

Another week is underway and I have to own up to sleeping for the majority of today (Monday's) daylight hours, to try and catch up on the lack of shut-eye this weekend! 3 hours of kip all weekend has put my body clock into a downward spiral!

It was a monster weekend of mashing, mixing and meeting people. Gonna pay my respects to Brighton's club scene and the majestic house jams of DJ Static. What a set from him this weekend and it was an honour to follow him onto the CDJ's. A late night drive home in awful weather was met with an early call from the wee-babe and then a busy day of play, v.strong coffee and super creativity.

Listeners showing us all how to pose for the camera.

Sunday evening meant a quick nip down to a house party hosted by Fire 107.6 DJ's Niall, Dave and their housemate, Quizmaster Rob. The boys had arranged a 'listener party' and had been pushing it on air for a couple of weeks.

I wimped out early, desperate for some kip, but not before I'd witnessed some pole-dancing action (they'd had one installed in the lounge! How cool is that?), and posed for some photos in the kitchen (where everybody was of course!).

Fire 107.6's Kelli, plus fetching hat, pictured with some cross-eyed twit!

Well done boys. A totally wicked party. And hopefully something to be repeated.

:: Hot Tracks & Bad Macs ::

Apple iMac 24

The Mixbuster recording studio has recently taken delivery of one of these bad boys. Quite an upgrade in both performance and screen size and I have to say that this behometh is simply awesome to use! For the first few days I thought it was too big, but now I can't believe that I used to work on a mere 15" display. Every visitor to the Mixbuster Mansion has exclaimed their love as soon as they cast an eye on the new beast. And quite rightly so.

I've been a devout Mac user for many, many years now and Apple keep delivering mind-blowing design and technological wonder-kit to blow our tiny MacGeek minds. Let's see if it makes my tunes any better? Talking of tunes, here's three tasty tracks to tip you off about:

Moon's Flag - Wrapped Around Your Finger
This has been floating around for a while now but deserves a mention. It's a simple, electro driven house re-working of The Police classic, with remarkably similar vocals to the Sting original. Sam Paganini is the dude behind this and what a terrfic job he's done. I just love it!

Eric Prydz vs. Pink Floyd - Proper Education
One of the hottest tracks around at the moment and set for an early release in 2007. Eric Prydz makes an admirable electro-house track out of the massive 70's school-kid anthem 'Another Brick In The Wall' by Pink Floyd. Very, very tasty.

DJ Disciple - Work It Out
A little bit more underground than the latter, this track is set for greatness and has been getting a great dancefloor reaction. Similar in shape to the massive Fedde Le Grande, this track is gaining major support by DJ's and dance orientated radio stations across the UK, which should mean good things for the Disciple and all of his followers.

*I've just found out that an Apple Retail Shop is about to open up in town as well as the planned main Apple Store in nearby Southampton. Oh dear! I'm in big trouble now!