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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! |
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Get ready for the combative quiet man of INSEKT, Chris Comben
Reported by Club_Insekt
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Submitted 04-06-07 18:21
It’s no coincidence that over the last 2 years, when a hard dance event wants to toughen up their output then they turn to the Insekt boys to bring some much needed quality and steel to the table.
Having worked with such heavyweight events as Frantic, Heat, Storm and Logic as well as hosting a upcoming arena at Antiworld’s massive Summer festival the boys are in hot demand but perhaps the most intriguing event of them all is the upcoming party with Innovate on Friday 22nd June at the amazing Heaven.
London has seen Innovate and Insekt run in parallel for some time now with Innovate championing the harder end of trance while Insekt excelled in the harder end of house. Following a string of recent sell out events at the Fridge, the clash at Heaven is sure to get those juices flowing and is not to be missed.
Chris Comben is one of the driving forces of Insekt, often seen to be taking a back seat, he is in fact very much at the forefront of the brand. Chris is now stepping up to the plate to fulfil his early potential and show why Marc and James approached him to join the team.
With a CD wallet crammed full of his new material, a event that is firmly establishing itself in the clubbing calendar, a expanding DJ career and now a new record label, Chris certainly has his fingers in a lot of pies. With the world at his feet he is definitely letting his actions speak louder then his words.
We sent Lorraine H along to speak to Chris as he prepares for his Innovate debut at Heaven.
You’ve been extremely busy of late stuck in the studio with the legendary Dave Parkinson, what’s been the inspiration behind grabbing the bull by the horns and getting stuck into making your own tracks?
I did some a few years back with my mate when he was starting to produce. However he was into his trance so we weren’t able to make harder tracks. At the time hard trance was starting to pick up so it wasn’t much of a problem because our ideas fitted together quite well. We kept at it for a bit but drifted as I started a new job and he moved to university.
After constant badgering from Marc Johnson to get in the studio myself and stop just slagging off his tunes, I finally decided to give it a go with a pro. I’m in a position now where I can afford to do it, but the buzz you get from hearing them out makes it worth the time and effort.
So far all your tracks have been engineered by Dave, is there anyone in the genre that you’d like to work with or are you happy to keep continuity?
I can’t praise Dave Parkinson highly enough, the geezer is a true legend! The beauty of Dave is that he works in so many genres and not just dance music, take the new Happy Monday’s album for example, also the Baby Shambles stuff, so he has influences from all over the shop. The fact that I can come in one day and want to do a slow funky hard house track could come straight after he’s just done a rap track with that geezer from Big Brother and it means he’s totally fresh to it. Rather than producers that have a particular sound, I think with Dave each time it’s totally new to him, like he can’t remember the last one he did. But once he gets going it all comes flooding back and you can see where Black Dogs really came from!
I think it’s fair to say everyone wants to work with Dom Sweeten at some point. As far as hard house goes there is none finer! He’s taken the sound on and worked it to the extreme. But I think at the moment it would be a bad time. Every Tom, Dick and Harry is going in at the moment, sometimes I think without properly thinking it through, so there seems to be a few tracks around that sound like Dom, but without the ideas. At one point I’ll try and book him to try it out though.
As far as continuity goes I do think it’s important to try and maintain a level of quality, but you don’t want to sound the same every time. Again this is where I think Dave excels in the fact that when I listen to my tracks again, the first and the last still sound different, even though its still Dave and myself.
Not only have you been racking up your own tracks for Combat but you’ve also had a release on the massive Toolbox with the popular There It Is and have recently fought of a host of competitors by winning the Flashpoint Records Remix competition and securing a vinyl release for your Unidentified Craft mix. Did you have to think hard about entering the competition due to your connection with Marc or were you quite happy to let your entry do the talking for you ?
Once my first track was signed to Toolbox I was really happy and thought it must be easy to get vinyl releases! I was actually aiming to get a track on Toolbox as it’s featured so many of my favourite tracks and really suits my sound. I love the early funkier hard house which Toolbox is known for championing, so it’s an honour to think I’m now on the same list as artists such as Justin Bourne and Paul King.
When I heard about the UC remix I didn’t really take much notice at first because most competitions are engineers only really, they say you can’t use a professional so I tend to just ignore them. It was only when I was talking to The Johnson about it that he mentioned they’re not fussed how it was done. So I thought to myself, hold up, I could win this bad boy! I gave the original a listen and decided I didn’t really like any of the elements in there, except for the vocal. Remembering things I’d been told in my early days by a few big people, I decided the best way was to go in there and write a new track myself and just use the vocal. Obviously it had to be hard as, but I like my hard stuff as much as the next man and I figured I’d be able to turn something out. I reckon its one of my best tracks to date.
When Marc told me I’d won it I was well happy, I think he was extra harsh on mine because he knows me and didn’t want to make it look like favouritism or anything. I’d like to think in the end the track puts paid to any suspicions as it got a massive reaction when it was played at Insekt in May.
With so many people struggling to get their music signed to labels and are having to settle with Digital releases how do you feel knowing that 2 of your early tracks have been signed by 2 of the bigger labels left in the scene?
That’s the crazy thing, I reckon its easy now, and the only way is down from here!
I’m totally indebted to Nik Denton who gave me my first break. Without people like Nik in the scene, who are prepared to take time out and listen to these tracks and even take a punt with their own money to put tracks out there things would have died a long time a go! A lot of people see a new persons name and just prejudge it as poor, but he’s given so many people their first releases that he should really be seen a lot higher in the scene than I think he is. I certainly doff my cap to him.
To be on FlashPoint is also amazing, when you consider how long Marc and Jupe have been fighting on, its good to know that the scene still has a future! Looking at all the labels that have come and gone over the years its tough to make anything of it. But hopefully they’ll keep pushing it on and maybe even sign a couple more of my tracks
We first heard about you through your involvement as Justin Bourne’s right hand man at Short Circuit, how did you get involved with working with Justin and were the seeds planted through your work with SC to create your own label?
I’ve known Justin for a good few years now, he’s a top lad and is a good laugh too, you can’t help but like the fellow. When he started up Short Circuit I said if I could help in anyway he just had to ask. The fact that to get anything done these days costs money, if you can save a couple of quid at any point it’s worth it. But I must admit initially he didn’t want to mix friendship and business, plus I reckon he was sceptical of my talents But after a heavy night at Heaven a few years back he decided it was time for a fresh look and feel for the label. As such I had a go at a new logo and it grew from there, building up the designs and style of the label from initial ideas. My full time job is as a designer for a big American corporation so it seems silly not to use my work skills and contacts in the tough business that is running a label.
Its good to be a second pair of ears as well; I got to hear a few tracks and get my opinions across. Obviously Justin had the final say but I certainly remember hearing Whiz Bang for the first time and saying you have to sign that, even if it means going to Oz and Dom’s and kicking the door down! But then he already knew that.
You’ve just started Combat Records with your first release Combat and All Clear due out in a matter of weeks, what sort of direction will you be taking the label in?
Well the idea behind the label is to have two different styles either side. One side will be tougher hard house for the end of the night; the other will be softer hard house for earlier on. In today’s market I think you can’t put all your eggs in one basket as at the moment not enough people want eggs. Personally I love the warm up stuff and a funky groovy feel to hard house, but its been shown in the past that for what ever reason it doesn’t sell. The logic behind having both is that if someone buys it for the hard side, one day they may find the soft side and realise its not all nose bleed stuff. I enjoy making both styles and this gives me the opportunity to offer people both types on one piece of vinyl.
Initially the label will be for my own productions and collaborations, but I won’t rule out releasing tracks by other producers if I feel it really deserves to be heard. Only time will tell on that score I suppose.
What’s coming up on Combat over the next few months?
Obviously I’ve got Combat and All Clear coming out at the start of June, Combat 002 has already been put to bed as well and I can exclusively reveal that it will have Chris Comben & Marc Johnson: Force10 on the A side with Chris Comben: Catch Da Vibe on the B side. The A I’m really happy with, I’ve combined with Marc on this one and come up with a hard, yet funky track. Its been described as having the old Nukleuz sound of a few years ago, which I’m really pleased about. The flip then has Catch Da Vibe, which is my own warm up hard house track. Featuring a catchy vocal and a drum and bass style break, it’s a great fusion of sound on this one as I’m really into my drum and bass, as well as hard house.
I’ve then got a collection of tracks in my bag waiting to come out and also a couple more collaborations planned. So assuming everything goes well each event we’ve got coming up I should have at least one if not two new tracks. So no Chris Comben set will ever be the same!
Will it be a Vinyl only label or will there be plans for some digital releases?
Currently vinyl only. Everyone knows its tough at the moment, and to have both formats available will make it harder to sell the vinyl I believe. In the end I can see the older tracks being released digitally, as there’s nothing more annoying then not being able to get hold of a classic track that you want. But rest assured, if you buy the vinyl you’ll not be seeing a digital version for a good year or two.
I also run Insekt Sonar with James Nardi, so when I come across tracks I feel are very good, but not quite strong enough for vinyl then it does give me the chance to give it a digital release. So with that in mind it doesn’t make sense to sign digital only tracks for Combat, as that’s direct competition.
How do you feel about the digital market? From working with Justin at Short circuit you would have seen vinyl in a healthy position; do you think that the birth of the MP3 age has affected this in any way?
Oh the good old days! I don’t think you can blame digital directly. It was inevitable that dance music would move to digital as its roots lie in computers as much as indie music lies in guitars. I don’t think it helped, but to be honest music goes in cycles. At the moment guitars are popular and have been for a few years now but I think that’s on the wane. But the problem is the whole music landscape is changing, with everyone able to create their own tracks and then release them straight away I think we’re losing a lot of quality control.
If I take a look at an mp3 distribution site, and then go to the Hard Dance section, I’m not trying to be big headed or to insult anyone, but some of these things shouldn’t be released and only as far back as 5 years ago wouldn’t have been. We’re removing the cost element in releasing tracks and with that removed no one has anything to lose with uploading anything they create, because one sale is better than no sales. If we look a few years back when a Tripoli, say, came out you knew you’d be getting a quality track, because time and money had been put on the line that it was of a good enough standard that enough people would want to hear it. You’d then know you could look back or forward and generally Tripoli releases would be worth spending your money on.
If I were getting into hard dance today I’d struggle in the swamp. I’d maybe find one or two tracks I’d like, but to get to that point I’d have to have listened to so many others that, in my opinion, are not up to scratch that I’d probably stop looking. Which is a shame, because this is one of the reasons we can’t attract new people to the scene. A few years back engineers and producers would have gone away and made sure that the track was as good as it could be, they’d have worked hard and made changes and altered and improved. Nowadays a lot of people just get them released and move onto the next one.
At least when you get a list of vinyl, such as you see at Toolbox, Juno, BT, etc you know that someone has done the vetting for you and that they feel this is the best of what’s out there. No need to search through the also ran tracks.
Not only do you DJ, Produce and run a label but you also promote Insekt with Marc Johnson and James Nardi. How did you get involved with the party and how do you feel all 3 of you work together as a team?
My god I hate those two! Constant e-mails and moaning about each other behind each others backs, its just a constant battle!
If only! We’re all good mates. They’ve both helped me immensely in the scene as a whole and I have total respect for what they have achieved and what I think they’ll go on to achieve. Both have played international events and created the tracks we all go out and dance too.
We each bring something different to the table I think. Marc has the musical know how and the connections which help a lot when working out line-ups and locations. James is the PR king, the man loves to talk Insekt and I like to think I provide the graphic and video element to the whole thing. No one quite knows how long it takes me to do the videos for the night and no one has seen the amount of t-shirt designs we went through to get to the ones that you all wear today.
I think we work very well as a team and I think if you take out either one of us we’d not function as Insekt quite as well as we do now.
I still hate them both though.
Insekt has been fortunate enough to work with some of the biggest parties in the scene such as Storm, Frantic, Heat and Logic. There’s also Antiworld’s mammoth 070707 festival and of course Heaven with Innovate coming up. How important is it for Insekt to be working closely with fellow promoters?
I think its great news for everyone, the more events featuring multiple musical styles the better. It also gives us a chance to open up the Insekt sound to other people who may not have found out how much fun it is. When you look at the line up for 070707 it’s just mental! Anyone that’s anyone is going to be there and its great to see the Insekt names there too!
A lot of people will be going for the house or breaks stages, but you never know, they may go past the Insekt stage and stop, from that point on I think the music is strong and varied enough to keep them there. The more people it’s exposed to the better and obviously vice versa.
As mentioned Insekt are hosting a room for Innovate on Fri 22nd of June at Heaven where Nick Sentience unleashes is brand new LIVE PA with a supporting cast of Phil Reynolds, Trevor McLaughlin and Olly Perris in the main room while James Nardi, Steve Maynard and Marc Johnson front up the INSEKT room. Who will you be looking to check out at this special event?
Innovate are known for their quality Hard Dance sound, encompassing many other styles and I believe Insekt are known for pioneering the quality hard house sound, so we can’t lose really. I’ve always wanted to play at Heaven as well so it can’t work out any better for us!
That line up is magic in the main room; Nick Sentience is the name that springs out to me as the man can’t stop making killer tracks! It’ll be great to see a live show as we all know how much effort goes into making those things, I’ll certainly aim to catch him. I’ve got to admit I’ve got a soft spot for Nicki S, every time I’ve seen her play she’s selected some classic tracks, always uplifting and definitely worth checking out if I get a chance.
You have been doing the warm up sets at recent INSEKT’s but at Innovate you are scheduled to be playing much higher up the order, how will your sound change for this set and what do you have in store?
I love playing warm up sets, for me the first two are always fun, after all a lot of my sound is based on the start of the evening and I like to jump around like a fool, so the less people that see that the better really! But All Clear, Unidentified Craft, Force10, there’s no way I could play those tracks before 1am! So its going to be fantastic to get a chance to play all the tracks I’ve been making without being able to play them out. Ideally in the future I’d love to play an Insekt later in the night and then the next Insekt as first set, on and off. That would give me a chance to play all my tracks and jig about like an idiot at all times.
I’m looking to do another hard track before Innovate, so if all goes to plan I should have a brand new Combat track to hammer over the Heaven sound system!
Photos courtesy of Insekt. Not to be reproduced without permission.
Innovate in association with Insekt..
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On:
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Friday 22nd June 2007
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At:
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Heaven [map]
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From:
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23:00 - 06:00
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Website:
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www.innovateuk.net
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Ticket Info:
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Heaven Box Office: 0207 930 2020
Innovate HQ: 08707 45 49 40
Cyberdog: 0207 482 2842
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Buy Online:
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Click here to buy tickets
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More:
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Innovate, Insekt, Friendz and the Dirty Cowboys are proud to present the next level in clubbing experience. Just when you thought Innovate couldn’t blow your mind any more, we have secured the magical Heaven club for a special summer party.
We have an all new Live set from our main man Nick Sentience “SoundVision” which will fuse state of the art technology to create an audio visual experience like no other you have seen before, and as always, your favourite Innovate residents Phil Reynolds and Nicki S are on hand to deliver the most eargasmic hard dance London has to offer.
So, with firm London favourite’s Friendz helping Innovate to make the main room extra special and Insekt making you stomp to the hottest hard house London has to offer, you know you need to be here, with us, for the highlight of summer clubbing 2007.
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Other Features By Club_Insekt:
The Justin Bourne supremacy: the Insekt @ Antiworld 07.07.07 interview
Ilogik causes a STORM as he looks forward to INSEKT
Insekt preview: frank talkin with hard house’s rising star Frank Farrell
Causing a storm at Insekt with Garbo
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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Comments:
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From: Redrum on 4th Jun 2007 19:43.33
Very interesting read! Especially about the Dave Parky bit. Chris is a top guy,deserves the best of luck with his label,tracks and of course Insekt!
From: TheDon on 4th Jun 2007 20:35.16
Still think the title should have been 'The fat man strikes again!' :o)
Thanks Redrum, I can't believe anyone actually managed to read through my noval! :o))
From: Kamora on 5th Jun 2007 01:09.13
Great read! Great dj! Great producer! Great!
Interesting and candid interview. Keep em rolling Chris!
From: Marc Johnson on 5th Jun 2007 11:45.36
Go the Wombat
From: John Nutter on 6th Jun 2007 14:04.07
There it is, baby...Really interesting stuff... much better than Iain Duncan Smith, too!
;o)
From: Nikki S on 6th Jun 2007 17:19.03
Hey Chris ... looking forward to meeting you in person and stomping it out during your set at Insekt/Innovate!!
From: TheDon on 9th Jun 2007 18:09.22
Cheers everyone, C(W)ombat 001 should be out this week as well :o)
From: Club_Insekt on 14th Jun 2007 15:11.52
Well done Chris!!
Keep up the good work.
Wombat's rule!!
From: *cheeky chick* on 15th Jun 2007 20:07.29
Wicked dj
Need to get some better close up photos of you
Will try my best next time i see ya 
From: TheDon on 16th Jun 2007 12:43.56
Its cause I'm so photogenic :o)) 
From: danj on 21st Jun 2007 01:58.22
Booya
From: Steve Twist on 25th Jun 2007 13:06.02
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
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