Miguel Campbell is one of the biggest names in dance music, creating some seriously juicy deep house tracks, being a figure in the scene since the 90s, bursting out from Leeds, England, gaining a worldwide reputation. His set on the Beatport Stage at Movement Festival, Detroit, was full of some seriously funky numbers that were heavy on the groove, offering particularly summery vibes on a bright summer's day. A big crowd turned out for his set, showing enthusiastic appreciation for Campbell's eclectic mix of tracks, sitting on people's shoulders, pumping fists into the air. It was just real fun dance music. His set seemed to travel across the vast expanse of the house genre and across soul, funk and R & B, ebbing and flowing with the vibes in the crowd, with Campbell as our guide through this musical journey. Highlight track was Campbell's reworking of Denis Yashin's "Wasting Your Time," with its synth delay and eerie, haunting vocals that reminds somewhat of Leonard Cohen's vocals in his song "First We Take Manhattan." Miguel Campbell is a truly talented DJ/producer who is pushing forward deep house into new, expansive territories, offering a refreshing an original take on a scene that has been inundated with artists in recent years.
Since then, a slew of legal issues have kept Mystikal from producing any new studio efforts since 2001’s Tarantula, although a new album, Original, could see the light by the end of this year after he signed to Cash Money Records back in 2010. He’s served jail time since then, but also performed live across America, with an energetic set at the Gathering of the Juggalos festival a particular highlight; look out for further live activity once Original drops. Given that it’s now a decade since their one and only smash, ‘Lola’s Theme’, went to number one on the UK charts and won undeniable status as the 2004 sound of the summer, it’s probably reasonable to say that Shapeshifters need to get a bit of a move on if they’re going to avoid forever being referred to as one-hit wonders. The London production duo, comprised of Simon Marlin and Max Reich, have continued to work dilligently in the years following the huge success of ‘Lola’s Theme’, but haven’t come anywhere close to matching that level of chart success. Instead, they’ve collaborated with the late, great Frankie Knuckles and remixed the likes of Natalie Imbruglia, Christina Aguilera, George Michael, Candi Staton, Faithless and Moby, and continue to prove a hit in the electronic dance world, with recent tracks like ‘She Freaks’ racking up seven-figure view counts on YouTube. They also deliver high-octane DJ sets the world over.
Watching DJs combined with actual performance skills is something incredible to watch, and Steve Lawler totally blew me away with both the musicality, and the performance of his set. His versatile production of many genres of music has seen him signed by huge labels, from R&S Records, Be As One, and many more, he is one of the most in demand artists around at the moment.
His support act, a hip hop act, hyped up the audience in preparation for Lawler’s set, and by the time the lights went down and the bass echoed across the crowd, everyone was screaming and cheering for him to begin. He opened with his remix of Collecting Data, which had everyone singing along straight away. From behind his DJ booth he was waving his arms in the air, encouraging everyone to dance along, and getting really into the music himself, all the while he was performing some really complex mixes on his desk.
He played a really diverse set, with tracks from Almerina and other originals, to older work, and unreleased tracks with great samples for everyone to sing along to. He’s an incredible musician, and an even better performer.