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JaM FaM The DJs on Heidi’s


Jackathon Jams stamp alexis Raphael


“Heidi’s first compilation really set the benchmark for an eclectic mix of jacking


house grooves,” says Alexis. “Then the first EP release with Maya and Miss Kittin was


super, super strong. It was hard to follow up, but I’m hoping we’ve done it on this second release, with my two tracks and Marc Houle’s remix.


“I think the fact that you’ve got Heidi’s


energy spearheading the whole thing says it all, really. Alongside that, to me, variety is the key, and Heidi is able to do that better than anyone else. Bringing together such a mix of artists under one roof gives Jackathon its energy and special feel.”


Maceo Plex “The tracks so far have been bangin’, fresh, and dirty,” believes Maceo. “Representative of Heidi’s sets, which are in-your-face jams and all forms of house. If Luke from 2 Live Crew started a house label, it would be like Jackathon.”


hahn solo!


The force is strong with electronic music’s latest bedroom auteur


soul clap “Heidi’s Jackathon series gives us the


power to jack our bodies,” say the duo. “She gives us the power to do the snake, she


gives us the key to the wiggly worm, she learns us how to walk our bodies!


“The parties are so dope that they bring nations and nations of all jackers together


under one house. Cuz at Heidi’s Jackathon, you may be black, you may be white, you may be Jew or Gentile. It makes no difference in her house and that is freeeesh!”


2012 saw Swiss-born, Vancouver-based Cyril Hahn sweep into our lives with some stupidly sexy house. His calling card was a revamp of Destiny’s Child’s ‘Say My Name’, vocals pitched down to a yearning moan and teamed with the deepest, sweetest of synths. It was bedroom production with all the emphasis on the bed; warm enough for the house heads, and with a low end that got the bass DJs panting for more. Sickeningly, for a man who ratcheted up over a million Soundcloud plays in the last six months, he really has only just got going. “I started producing electronic music this year,” he emails, “and yes, it definitely feels sudden. I just started producing for fun and had no clue people were going to respond the way they did.”


If you think the wheezing analog melodies are created by a museum’s worth of vintage kit, think again: “All I’ve used for my song so far is a laptop and a midi keyboard,” he reveals. “I think the warm sound comes from using a lot of vintage synthesizer sounds, but also the use of white noise/field recordings. I always liked the lo-fi aesthetic of the records I grew up with. Background noise or white noise was never something that bothered me on a recording. I think noise gives a song more character, a certain organic quality. That’s why I often include white noise or field recordings in my production. I don’t want my songs to sound too sterile or mechanical.”


Miss kittin “Heidi is sunshine,” reckons Kittin. “So are the releases, as her heart drives her. It’s all about good music, of course, and friendship. She knows many amazing people making good music, so I am not worried about the future of the label. She will always manage to find special tracks from special people. “The parties are all about the fun, the love! Just like the track I wrote for her for the first release, ‘Girlzindahood, shaking like you should, hug and cry, something you’ll never have’. “It’s not about competition or ego, it’s about sharing our love for music, playing with our heart, dancing. And you can only have a good time.”


Inevitably the Soundcloud plays have led to DJ offers, and Hahn has been putting together a set using Ableton and an APC 40. He’s “extremely excited” to have booked his first European tour throughout Spring 2013 and the next few months are looking good.


“The remixes I did for Jessie Ware and Gabrielle Aplin should be out soon. I mostly want to start focusing on originals over the next couple of weeks and work on my live set as well. I’m also going to start including visuals for my shows next year.”


Finally, we want to know if there are any plans for official collaboration with r&b stars, but the man who has sprinkled bootleg magic on Mariah, Jeremih, Ciara and Solange is remaining tight lipped, just laughing: “Watch this space…”


djmag.com 007


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