Freshly Social

French fans of Camden-born singer/writer/DJ/producer Just Jack are in for a treat this month, when the critically acclaimed performer takes to the decks during the Night Of The ESSEC (La Nuit De L’Essec), at the at Essec Business School in Paris.

Although well-known for his razor-sharp commentary on urban life through accessible hip-pop productions, Just Jack has always taken inspiration from the DJ sound tracks of his youth in north London. House music singed with the angst, depravity, hope and enthusiasm of a city, combined with Jack’s established mastery of production techniques, created the successful storyteller he is today. And it’s his talent to drive melodic, free-flowing records that is likely to raise a few eyebrows on 29 January, as fans realise (DJ) Just Jack has yet another powerful string for his colourful bow.

Holland is famous for many things: tulips; clogs; waterways; beautiful countryside; ‘Amsterdam’; bingo; picturesque cities. Errrr, rewind - Bingo? Well, maybe not. However, hailing from the east of the Netherlands are two of house music’s hottest talents – the awesome DJ/production duo, Bingo Players.

Before forming Bingo Players, Paul Bäumer and Maarten Hoogstraten were just good friends who shared a hunger for electronic music. Soon, this passion organically nourished an uncanny skill for creating stomping house concoctions, and led to numerous successful releases that were championed by respected industry names. Bingo Players are now Beatport favourites and are recognised by peers (Martin Solveig is one of their biggest advocates) and music fans as one of the premier production partnerships on the scene.

2010 was a year to remember for the Bingo Players, following appearances worldwide that gave fans an insight into the characters who have sound tracked a significant portion of their club land memories.

Fresh from the true-to-form success of his last brilliant release in December 2010, ‘Lose My Head’ (featuring Michael M), dance music icon and New York house pioneer George Morel has started 2011 with a charismatic bang with his new track, the deep, electronic techno twister, ‘I said’.

Last year saw the house maestro return to the fore of the industry following a deserved time-out from the spotlight – though even then was anything but sitting down and sifting through his countless hit record collection. Producing a steady stream of material to keep his ‘music production addiction satisfied’, George refocused his famously dedicated work ethics in order to reaffirm his place as one of the true Dons of the DJ roundtable.

Londoners are expecting a fire in Hyde Park!

But that doesn’t mean concerned citizens from Regents Park property will be calling the local fire brigade – the blaze we’re talking about is award-winning Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, who will be blazing through their biggest-ever UK gig in Hyde Park this summer.

The show is scheduled for 30th June but tickets – which will go on sale today for £48.50 – are already in great demand. Rumour has it that Arcade Fire will also be releasing a new version of their third studio album, The Suburbs, in summer, including a short film from legendary director Spike Jonze, entitled Scenes from the Suburbs and based on the band’s top-selling album.

From now until mid-April creative Londoners can enroll in jewellery courses at the London Jewellery School that will challenge their creativity. While there are all kind of courses available including gold and silvery jewellery making, it is resin and Perspex jewellery courses that people are getting most excited about.

Billed by organisers as ‘the greatest party of the summer’, the Good Vibrations Festival in Perth, Australia, has jazzed up this year’s line-up with the stars of good time house music, Yolanda Be Cool.

The Australian band, made up of Sylvester Martinez and Johnson Peterson, will be working the audience up into frenzy with their worldwide smash hit, ‘We No Speak Americano’, in addition to a full compliment of their crowd bursting tunes performed with characteristic excess.

The signature song, which listeners across the globe simply cannot, nor want, to escape has sat comfortably atop the German, Austrian, Irish, UK, Danish, Dutch, Swedish and Belgian charts, as well as riding high almost everywhere else.

Yolanda Be Cool (a reference to the cult Quentin Tarantino movie Pulp Fiction) burst onto the scene in 2009, with their snappy track, ‘Afro Nuts’, which went onto receive remix duties from DCUP for inclusion in legendary London dance club Fabric’s 49^th compilation album.

‘Who is that?’, ‘OMG! Where did he come from?’ and ‘Why haven’t I heard of him?’ are questions that have popped up quite a bit since mainstream dance’s introduction to Boston vocalist Niles Mason.

With a scratched soul voice that harks back to the raw heyday of Chess and Motown, dance fan Niles Mason is now mixing it up with DJ supremo David Guetta on the hot new track he created with Afroman, ‘Louder than words’.

Recently signed to international artist booking agency, MN2S, Niles Mason is set to go global following the track’s international release, and with even more projects planned with Guetta, Niles is soon to be the name on everyones’ lips.

“To be completely honest, we’re silly with excitement!” say the organisers of this year’s Wakarusa Music Festival in Arkansas, USA, about its stellar line-up, which features an array of top acts including Mumford & Sons, Ben Harper and house DJ/vocalist/producer/performer, Roy Davis Jr.

Those lucky enough to catch Roy’s headline slot on New Year’s Eve at Los Angeles hot spot, King King Club, will ascertain that a set of his self-described ‘soul-electra’ is something truly to behold.

Now, Roy’s funky house music is set to relocate and take over the 4-day music and camping party, which takes place in the very soul of America’s Midwest.

Born in California, but very much raised in Chicago, Roy has been designing and creating his sound for over twenty years. Never content with past successes, he is one of the stalwarts of the genre, combining soul and obsessive professionalism to continue a quest to inspire with his art – just as he was inspired years before by the likes of house music legends Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk, Lil’ Louis and DJ Pierre.

Heart throb to some and a definite chart topper at the very least, James Blunt is one of the worlds current most successful crooners and will soon be bringing a little bit of his magic to the stunning lands of Malta. The Valletta Waterfront will be the expected sight of a James Blunt Concert extraordinaire as this talented young man belts out the hits one after another on the 7^th of April 2011. This is only the start of James Blunts European tour which will see him taking in the sights, indulging in his favourite pastime (known to be Malta gambling) and singing ballade after ballade for the hungry crowds. James will be singing hits from his new album, ‘Some Kind of Trouble’. More information about the man himself follows below:

To say the recent passport problems encountered by Hamburg-born DJ/producer Gadjo were a disappointment to his legions of fans beyond the European Union, is a slight understatement. Now, having finally put the nightmare of bureaucracy behind him, it looks like the Gadjo machine will be making up for lost time.

On the passport drama, Gadjo recently announced via his official website: “Hey folks, this was not a cool time for me. Finally, I solved the problem with my passport and I’m able to rock some tours again.”

And that really is music to the ears of fans who were devastated to miss out on his near legendary PAs. Having made the most of the downtime to continue creating his distinctively accessible and enlivening house designs, Gadjo has some impressive ideas that will ensure audiences will be talking about his DJ sets for the foreseeable future.