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Features 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!

An interview with Flash Point's quiet man Jupe. Reported by Toomz / Submitted 08-03-06 11:36 Flash Point Records have been going from strength to strength over the past few years with Marc Johnson more obviously known for flying the label’s flag for all things dark and gritty. But behind the scenes we find Jupe, the unsung hero, keeping Marc on the straight and narrow. Jupe’s knowledge and experience in the scene spans many years and has taken him around the world, playing to the masses in his native South Africa, right over to where he now resides in the United States. More renowned for his uplifting style of hard house, Jupe has recently set up his own solo project, Fired Up Records, showcasing his own unique style and that of some of the latest emerging young talent from across the globe. On the back of his evergrowing discography and his and Marc’s ear for signing the next dancefloor hit, Jupe has taken on the task of mixing disc 1 of the forthcoming Flash Point Records CD ‘Industrial Strength Vol.1’, soon to be hitting the shops. I’ll now let the man himself carry on explaining the guy’s new venture, along with the rest of the goings on in the life of Jupe. Hi there. You have had quite a travelled life as a DJ and person. Give us a little insight into your background and your travels? Yeah I have been all over — either through DJing or family holidays, so I am doubly lucky. I was born in South Africa, raised until 16 in England (near Swindon) and then moved to America for 10 years in California. Only the last 3 years have been spent back in the U.K. You have recently relocated to America, what was the motivation behind this and how’s the move going? The move is going ok, lots of things to sort out — a decent job, a place to stay, health insurance, a car etc. I think by the end of March I will be back to normal life, but it has kept me busy — especially trying to organize this CD release. The motivation really was the weather — as Marc knows (coz I used to complain to him all the time!) I can’t stand the cold! You spent a lot of time in England where whilst there, met up with Marc Johnson who you then went on to form the successful Flash Point Records. Where did you meet and how was the label born? We met at Milk in 414 I believe. I already had and was playing a lot of his early releases and so was a big fan of his stuff. We got to talking and he was such a cool and down to earth guy that we got along from day one. The label was born when he invited me to make a track with him — and out we came with ‘The Real Deal’! The label’s been a mainstay in many a DJs bag over the last 2 and half years. What have been your favourite of the releases and why? Good question. I think my favourites so far are Marc and George’s original of ‘Great Responsibility’ (everyone goes for the J.B. remix I know!), the Casper remix of ‘Deformed’ (again it’s the original that everyone raves above!) and Marc and Casper’s remix of ‘No Laying Around’. Off the back of the success of Flash Point you decided to spread your wings with the creation of Fired Up Records. The label’s just gone digital only, what has been the reason behind this? The main reason has to be sales — even though it has done well as a label and gained a good worldwide following, I need to make sure it’s profitable and it doesn’t have the same established name like Flash Point. The move to digital is not a permanent thing — if sales increase in vinyl then I will go back, because Toolbox is a great distributor. Your own production career has also been prominent with releases such as ‘Never Surrender’, ‘Act of God’ and ‘Negotiation’ all proving popular amongst DJs and clubbers. What is up your sleeve for the coming months? I have had to really take a break from production because of the time and money involved. I have one unreleased track still but I haven’t decided what to do with it. I will get back into production I think but right now my energies have to be focused on my move, the CD release and other things. Flash Point has stepped up and created Flash Point digital, which is an offshoot to the vinyl label where tracks will be available for download only. What was the thinking behind this and how is it going? Will the downloads ever replace the vinyl? I got to thinking one day that we were limiting ourselves to vinyl releases and it appeared that the digital revolution was here to stay. We can only release so many vinyl tracks at a time but we always get quality stuff sent to us. We were having to turn it away and then we’d see it on other labels on vinyl. I suggested this idea of releasing the same quality tracks on digital to Marc and he was already there so we moved on it. Personally I haven’t been that impressed so far with digital and I think it’s going to be a few years before it is even coming close to vinyl in terms of sales, but it is an excellent medium for people who live in Outer Mongolia who want tracks the same day they are released. Will downloads replace vinyl? I don’t know, never say never, but I think it may be a generational thing – kids growing up using digital and not knowing the feeling of vinyl on the turntables so not knowing what they are missing. When us old farts stop playing maybe vinyl will die. But look at it from the 60s to today — it went away with tapes and then CDs (as far as commercial releases) but then it made a massive come back in the 90s. My money’s on the fence, Marc and I are just making sure we are on the right side of the fence for FPR. The main reason we’ve cornered you is to find out some more about Flash Point’s first CD ‘Industrial Strength Vol. 1’. What has inspired you to branch out into compilation territory? Again I got to thinking — something that doesn’t happen all that often — that we should release a Flash Point mix CD, initially on digital download. But after speaking to people (Nik at Toolbox for one) we decided there may be a market for a CD release. Compilations of hard dance haven’t been doing very well lately, but Flash Point is a niche market and we are only targeting our fans, so I think it’ll do really well. We’ve got some great tracks on there, but I guess that is the next question! You have recorded one of the CDs and Marc has also. Please can you give us a brief summary of your mix and what is on it? My mix uses quite a lot of the already released material, whereas Marc’s is a little upfront. The good thing is that Marc and I have quite different tastes these days so the two CDs are very different and will therefore appeal to a wide variety to hard house junkies. I’ve got Ali Wilson’s great, dark remix of ‘The Reckoning’, some new tracks from James Searles, who is definitely the next biggest producer, and I’ve even shamelessly added the awesome remix of my ‘Act Of God’ from Mr. Nick Sentience… Tidy are distributing the CD exclusively. What are your hopes for the CD and any plans for Vol.2? I just hope that everyone who is into hard house, and especially Flash Point, will get to hear about this compilation. It’ll do well whatever happens and I am excited to be doing this with Tidy. Volume 2 will come but trust me, getting Vol 1 out has nearly killed us, so it’s not that big in my mind yet!! Industrial Strength Vol. 1 will be hitting all your favourite online record stores from the end of March 2006. Photos courtesy of Jupe. Share this :: : : : Follow HarderFaster :: Other Features By Toomz: Insekt preview with Simon Paul & Housewives Choice. Insekt preview: crowd rockin with Ben Stevens Insekt preview: interview with George E From Oz to AM: a look at the past year & 2006 with James Nardi An update on a Vicious year for Insekt’s early riser, Marc Johnson 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. Comments: From: George-E on 8th Mar 2006 12:00.21 Most prob. the kindest/good natured man in Hard Dance...always very supporting and willing to crack a joke. Jupe...remember with gr8 power comes gr8 responsibility : Keep up the good work mate! Hope you're well in Sunny CA! From: Meena on 8th Mar 2006 14:58.01 Hey Jupe Miss you already, especially when I know how sunny and hot it is in Miami! It's about time you got your own feature on HF! Talk soon xx From: Marc Johnson on 8th Mar 2006 15:41.50 A pleasure to work with and a genuine nice guy, hope all going well over there in the heat you lucky git, dont drink too much and lay of the bad substances From: shezmetz on 8th Mar 2006 16:14.34 cracking producer,yet to see you dj ill look out for the album From: Andy T on 8th Mar 2006 16:20.37 Loving Xinetd_D 'One Percent' on Fired Up ! Would have signed that in a second ! From: Steve Gillen on 8th Mar 2006 16:52.09 great interview. Top label. Keep up the good work lads From: Cerberus on 9th Mar 2006 12:37.02 well done Jupe - I miss ya from the good old days of Lunacy at the Fortress From: Cerberus on 9th Mar 2006 12:39.38 well done Jupe - I miss ya from the good old days of Lunacy at the Fortress From: Stevi D on 10th Mar 2006 12:45.20 JUPE - another Saffa making noise on the UK grounds! the guys a champ, wicked playing with you. One of the most down to earth dudes on the scene, see you soon buddy and all the best with EVERYTHING From: mattpickup on 12th Mar 2006 23:30.01 great interview matey From: DJD4RK on 13th Mar 2006 12:19.10 Jupe is a legend, loved the Flashpoint label from the first releases, and liking Fired Up releases just as much! I wear my "FU" Tshirt with pride! Was a pleasure to have you play for at Squelcher in the early days and hope one day if you're back over this way we can have you behind the decks again. Good luck in the US! From: the Greg on 13th Mar 2006 23:27.34 He Was Born in South Africa... It has to be noted! *grin* From: Jupe on 14th Mar 2006 17:42.43 Thanks all for the great comments everyone. It certainly has been fun and long may it continue! My next mission is to baptize Miami with quality hard dance, wish me luck! Lol From: James Searles on 15th Mar 2006 11:31.14 great stuff mate... good luck From: capeclubber on 16th Mar 2006 16:53.59 hi jupe, saw you last year when you played in cape town, you totally rock man!!! did not know you were a saffa, big up man. when will you be rocking the london dancefloors again??? From: Ganesha on 17th Mar 2006 11:43.30 Top Fella! From: Kamora on 18th Mar 2006 10:04.49 Love HooHaa

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