Hacienda and Faithless

Keeping it a family affair, the Texan indie rock trio Hacienda comprising of brothers Rene, Abraham and Jaime Villanueva got together in 2007 with their attempt to revive good old fashioned rock n’ roll. With old school harmonies reminiscent to that of the Beach Boys and The Beatles, the trio embarked on their journey. Self-recording their early demos, Hacienda’s big break came about when their six track demo landed in the hands of Black Key’s lead singer Dan Auerbach. So impressed with these demos, Auerbach played it to the rest of the band and soon Hacienda were given the opportunity to support Black Keys on a nationwide tour. From that moment on, the band have been riding the wave of success going on to support Kasabian and City & Colour extending internationally whilst releasing three full length albums, all met with critical acclaim. Their apparent natural chemistry which feeds into their live performances alongside their incredibly tight musicianship emits an enchanting radiance woven through poppier elements. Hacienda’s groovy sound has the crowd bopping from side to side, mesmerised by their powerfully catchy hooks. Performing tracks such as ‘Natural Life’ and ‘Honaloochie Boogie’ Hacienda continue their mission to revive rock n’ roll, playing with passion, guts and an abundance of musical ingenuity.

Before electronic act Faithless disbanded in 2011, I was fortunate enough to witness their full live spectacle on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2010. It was a massive celebration of the 20+ year career, packed with all their hits and backed up with a full live band and plush production. Faithless’ influence on UK electronic music is undeniable –Sister Bliss’ compositions, Rollo’s production and Maxi Jazz’ spoken word vocals have been plagiarised ever since they broke out onto the dance scene in the mid-to-late ‘90s. Seeing their trance-laced trip-hop and club music brought to life via a live band, and seeing and hearing the enigmatic Maxi Jazz in the flesh, was one of the highlights of that whole summer. They played all the favourites: from ‘God Is A DJ’ to ‘Insomnia’ to ‘We Come 1’. For those that never managed to catch Faithless live before they retired – fear not, as Maxi Jazz and Sister Bliss still sporadically perform together in a stripped down incarnation known as The Faithless PA and DJ 'Sound System'. Last year I caught this project as they headlined Secret Garden Party (2011), and although their sets lean more towards traditional house and techno music than the Faithless we know and love, they still drop all their hits. That ‘Sound System’ set was proof enough that Maxi Jazz’ stage persona and vocals remain unsurpassed.

It’s funny how certain artists who are largely tied to certain underground scenes can, from time to time, cross over into the mainstream, even if only temporarily, and then disappear back to where they’ve always been best loved; that’s certainly the case with Roger Sanchez, a house DJ from Queens, New York who has been one of the genuine titans of the house genre ever since first emerging in 1994. The reverence with which fans of that style treat him has never really waned in the two decades since, but he has made a couple of breakthroughs in to the mainstream, first with his 2001 hit single ‘Another Chance’, which went to number one in the UK, and then with his first Grammy win in 2003, for Best Remixed Recording on his rejigged version of No Doubt’s ‘Hella Good’. Whilst that hasn’t quite translated into widespread commercial success, he remains a popular figure within his own genre, having performed residencies in the world capital of clubbing, Ibiza, every summer since 2000, performing sets that blend house with electronica to stirring effect. He also hosts a weekly radio show, Release Yourself, that has up to fifteen million listeners worldwide - it’s no wonder, then, that he so often travels the world and packs out rooms wherever he goes.

It is such an honour to see Todd Terry perform live as he is one of the most legendary house producers ever with such a distinctive sound that can be heard a mile off. It’s safe to say that this heavyweight has been on the scene for the best part of about thirty years now and has maintained his fantastic reputation along the way. His sound is very much a sampled haven of crossing over dance and disco. I can’t believe he even performed a boiler room set. He is so composed when he performs, just letting his music do the talking whilst he triggers samples on the decks that induce mass sing alongs and drops. He performs one of his biggest hits, “Keep On Jumpin’” which brings the house down. This huge audience can’t contain their excitement and the floor erupts, with everyone jumping up and down with their hands in the air, singing along to any melody that they hear. It’s retro but fresh, sounding as though it could have come out any time between 1980 and now and it would be considered “current”.

DJs, I find, get away lightly with their live performances, as a lot of their work is pre-prepared and pre-recorded, so I was extremely excited to see Erol Alkan when I heard that he predominantly plays his music live, using sample pads, his laptop, kaoss pads, and synths. From the moment he walked out on stage, it was evident that he had years of experience behind a DJ desk, as he looked totally at home as he played a funky riff on his synth and inserted a sample to get his first track going. It was incredible that he managed to hold an audience with a track that we’d never heard for his first song, in fact, it was an improvisation on the spot we later found out, and if had everyone dancing and cheering, and he even replayed the hook several times as everyone was enjoying it so much.

After Erol launched the club Trash, he made a huge name for himself as a DJ, as it’s now one of the most influential clubs around, and he managed to get huge names to Dj and perform there. He was great at getting the audience involved in his show, and when he wasn’t busy mixing and creating music, he was dancing along and shouting out for us to do the same. He played his incredible Daft Punk remix, and held out a microphone to symbolise that everyone should join in, which of course we did. The atmosphere was incredible from start to finish, and his talent blew me away.