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Features
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| Introducing NEM3SI$’s new label Infinite Resistance! | | Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! | | Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! | | Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! | | Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. | | Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! | | Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! | | NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! | | Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! | | Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! | | Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! | | SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! | | The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! | | NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! | | Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project | | The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! | | A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden | | Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma | | Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino | | New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! | | PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! | | Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! | | N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! | | Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna |
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Girl Power! Kate Hammond, Vicious Circle’s leading lady
Reported by MostwantedJonathan
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Submitted 19-07-06 09:17
Who said hard dance was a man’s game? It may well be an industry dominated by men, but at Vicious Circle the day to day management is done by a supergirl called Kate Hammond. Kate’s tireless work for the cause that is Vicious Circle and I Love VC, lead to her being crowned a saviour, by the boys who set it up! As I Love VC prepares to take on the capital once again with its first birthday, we caught up with the beautiful Ms Hammond to talk shop.
Hi Kate, can you tell us a bit about yourself and what your involvement is with VC. And please, don’t be modest. We’ve all read the inlay cards on your albums!
Haha yes, well according to Paul I’m the saviour of VC. But I wouldn’t go as far as that. When I started working here Vicious Circle had so much potential, which just hadn’t been utilised in the past. So I like to think I just utilised that potential, by shaking things up a bit and giving VC a swift kick in the ass!
I came to Vicious Circle after having finished a Marketing degree in Manchester. I started clubbing when I was 16, going to Cream and Garlands in Liverpool, and then a hard house night started in Liverpool called Addiction, which just blew me away. I was hooked, and would get every month without fail. That’s where I met Paul, he’d come down and play every now and then. We both looked a fair bit different back then haha. But that’s where my love of HH started, so I had a pretty good feel for the industry by the time I joined Vicious.
With regards to my involvement, I guess you would say I’m Label Manager. Everything comes through me really. From event management and advertising to A&R and accounts.
Everyone dreams of working for a record label — does the reality live up to the ideal?
I probably take things for granted having worked here for so long, but when I think about it I am really lucky. There are probably hundreds of people who would love to be in my position, perhaps even thousands.
It’s hard work but so very worth it, especially at our events. I was telling a friend just the other day how amazing it feels stepping into a venue on the night we’re doing an event, setting everything up as it’s getting closer and closer to when the doors open. And then when they do, and people start coming in, I get so nervous, so excited. And then as the club fills up, I get people telling me how well we’ve done, how amazing the night is. That is without doubt the best part of my job.
Give us a typical day in the life of VC . . .
That’s the thing with doing bits of everything, you never have a ‘typical’ day! I spend most of my day at VC HQ, but what I do varies.
img]/images/features/11437.history_katePaulLes.jpg[/img]
In a male dominated environment, what’s it like, and how to you get your own way?
To be honest I don’t really notice the fact that I’m the only female. Now I don’t know whether that’s because I’m a tomboy, or whether Paul, Ben and Les are slightly feminine?! Haha! No I think it’s because we all get on so well, and know each other very well, so our gender doesn’t come in to it.
And with regards to getting my own way . . . what makes you think I do?!
What’s the state of play with vinyl sales in comparison to MP3?
We are currently outselling MP3s with vinyl, by a fair bit. Whilst we’re still putting vinyl out, I think it will always be the case. At the end of the day I think most djs would prefer to play vinyl, so whilst the option is there, they’ll go for vinyl every time.
I don’t know when we’ll switch to digital completely, we’re currently up to VCR056, and I’ve just signed in VCR062 as a vinyl release, so we’re not in any hurry, that’s for sure.
Obviously vinyl has been your bread and butter since VC began. Do you see a long lasting future in vinyl?
I know what I want to say, but I really don’t know. It’s just something that we’ll have to review every few months. I would love it if vinyl could stay around forever, but with new technology these days, who knows.
What do you strive for as a label? What’s the VC mission?
I think our mission has always been to release the best music in our genre at the time, which is consistent in quality and fresh enough to move the scene forward.
But then I would say since last year, we also strive to put on fantastic events whereby we can celebrate our music and show clubbers exactly what we’re about where it counts, on the dance floor!
It must be pretty intimate with such a small number of you working so intensively. Do you all get along swimmingly?
For 3 weeks out of every month, yes haha!
So many independent dance labels get swallowed up by the majors. If one of them made you an offer that meant you could live the rest of you life in the lap of luxury, but it meant losing control of VC, would you take it?
Erm, no?
Tell us about I LOVE VC. You’re about to storm London again and celebrate its first year, what’s the crack?
Well you could say we’re celebrating in style, bringing something which hasn’t been witnessed before — 8 Hours of Glazby!
We were wracking our brains thinking of how we could make the night really special with it being the first birthday, and believe it or not it was actually Paul who suggested he would do the whole night. I think people know that he won’t just be hammering it out for the full 8 hours, he will be starting with some warm up material and progressing the intensity of the music throughout the night, at the same time taking you through a journey of dance music through his own eyes.
We mustn’t forget the amazing line up in The Lab also, which I am so very proud of. We have the ever faithful, ever talented Tim Clewz, showcasing a selection of his own material. We have Stash, the one and only Charlie from old time hard house duo Jez & Charlie, proving to you why he’s the hottest new house talent to hit the South. And when asked what we should expect from him on the 22nd in an interview currently up on www.ilovevc.com, he simply replied ‘Electronic mayhem — with surprises’. Judging by the crowd reaction from both of his sets at the last tidy Weekender, mayhem is most definitely an understatement!!
And then last but not least we have Infidel, who is the filthy electro house alto ego of production genius Paul Maddox. Infidel’s set will comprise of never been heard before material. So if you fancy a break from Glazby, The Lab will be the perfect alternative!
The Fridge has suffered a lot of stick recently, and a lot of scare-mongering meant to keep people away. What assurances can you make that it will rock for you on the 22nd?
Being completely honest, as a promoter I think it was the best thing that could have happened. Local dealers were coming in to the club and threatening and abusing clubbers and staff. It was ruining the atmosphere for everyone involved and we all wanted them out. The raid was a bit sensational, but then The Fridge doesn’t do things by halves! Everything’s back to normal now, in fact it’s better than ever. There’s a great vibe, the 6am drinks license is back and the clubbers are coming back in droves. According to reports, the last couple of parties have been sensational. Plus with Paul’s 8 hour set and a line up in The Lab to die for, I think I Love VC is going to rock more than ever before! You have been warned!!
There have been a lot of events, brands that just don’t cross over the geographical border. Are you surprised at how well I Love VC has worked in London?
I am yes. But then in another sense I knew if we could take it anywhere it would be London. Before I Love VC was born, I’d always been so blown away at the reaction Paul would get whenever he played in London. And we’d done a couple of events with other existing clubs such as Insekt and Frantic, and the turn out would be awesome, and the atmosphere would be electric. So I had a feeling that we’d do well from the start. But I never anticipated it would work as well as it has. The 3 events we’ve done so far have blown me away each time, and I’ve loved every minute of it.
Paul’s going to be doing an eight hour set — how’s he been preparing for it?
Well as I’m writing this he’s actually at our friends house sorting all his vinyl out. We store some of it in their garage as we’ve simply ran out of room he has that many!
He has an idea of how he’s going to progress through the night, and I’m sure it will all come together perfectly. I can’t give too much away but he has some fantastic plans!
How much work do you normally have to put in to a VC party?
Well as you know we do our events with Most Wanted, so between us and the guys down there, we work our asses off in the weeks leading up to the event.
Does it stress you out and is it worth it?
I really want to say no, that I’m cool as a cucumber, but I would be lying! The week leading up to the event I get super stressed, worrying that something will go wrong, which I have every right to after our last event where we changed venue 3 days before!!
And then on the Friday I warn the others to stay back, as I’m frantically sorting last minute guestlists and sorting my checklist out as we have that much stuff to take down with us. This generally lasts until we get in the car to drive down on the Saturday. I know as soon as we get on the motorway, that’s it, there’s no turning back. It’s crazy as we leave ourselves plenty of time but we always seem to be rushing about — story of our life really, haha! So we get to the venue, put the décor up, put the posters up, and then we’re off!
Is it worth it? You only have to see my face on the night and you’ll see that the answer is most definitely yes.
Would you ever trade your job?
It depends what with! Within this industry — not a chance.
What’s the next step for VC?
This year I’m aiming to get to grips with our merchandise. The release schedule is looking healthy, and the MP3 site is doing well. But I have so many people asking me about merchandise wherever I go, record bags, flags, slipmats, t-shirts, I think it’s about time we gave them what they wanted.
I’d also like to step up the events, as we’ve had some fantastic feedback from the ones we’ve done so far and have got the thirst now! We’re currently looking for a very special venue for a very special night. So you never know, you may have us right on your doorstep in the not so distant future.
A million thanks Kate, always a pleasure.
Pictures all courtesy of www.ilovevc.com. Not to be reproduced without permission.
I Love VC 1st Birthday!
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On:
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Saturday 22nd July 2006
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At:
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The Fridge [map]
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From:
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2200 to 0600
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Cost:
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£10 limited @ www.ilovevc.com, £12 limited @ www.ticketweb.co.uk, £15 thereafter, £MOTD
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Website:
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www.ilovevc.com
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Ticket Info:
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We’re putting tickets on sale super early for this one, and as an incentive, all tickets bought online from www.ilovevc.com will come with a free I Love VC & www.VCmp3.com record box sticker. AND you have to opportunity to get your ticket for just £10! But be fast or be last, as this fantastic offer will only run until Friday 9th June 06.
After this, limited £12 Early Bird tickets will be available from www.ilovevc.com or www.ticketweb.co.uk. Thereafter tickets will be priced at £15.
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Buy Online:
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Click here to buy tickets
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More:
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Extended sets are two a penny these days, especially in the world of hard dance, with most clubs assigning just 2 hours to their headliner. What I LOVE VC has in store for you when it celebrates its 1st birthday is nothing short of DEADLY!
I LOVE VC proudly presents a World Exclusive!
PAUL GLAZBY’S 8 HOUR JOURNEY THROUGH DANCE
There are only a few DJs who’ve governed a dance-floor for this amount of time, and it’s no easy task! Weeks of preparation will go into this set, as Glazby rifles through thousands of records to ensure he gets it 100% spot on. This won’t be banging hard house from start to finish, far from it in fact. The man they once called the Dark Destroyer has been given the task of taking you on a journey through dance.
WE SIMPLY CANNOT WAIT – CAN YOU!
Glazby can’t be in two places at the same time and so he won’t be donning his tenPM hat on this occasion. Instead the keys to THE LAB will be handed over to Tim Clewz, Stash and INFIDEL! Infidel we hear you ask? It’s not uncommon for Djs to have a second guise, and when we tell you who this is, you’re not going to want to miss it. It’s none other than production genius, Paul Maddox! Infidel’s set will comprise of never been heard before material….and it’s for this reason we’re saving Infidel till last!
It will have been one year to the date that I LOVE VC was conceived, and we mustn’t forget where it was spawned - from the heart of Vicious Circle, the UK’s leading underground hard dance label.
I Love VC - Clubbing Delivered in a Vicious Manner!!
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Other Features By MostwantedJonathan:
Relocation relocation with Twisted's very own Hannah Willis
Tidy Weekender 9 Live preview with Lisa Pin-Up
DTPM - the birthday: interview with the legendary Malcolm Duffy
Nick Rowland — Innovate Preview
She’s the leading lady of DTPM — meet Lisa German!
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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