You couldn’t have found a happier and more pumping dance floor than the one at La Maison last month. The newest stop for hipsters and scenesters of all shapes and sizes, the club was enjoying its official launch – and what a night it was.

Ramming its premises were sexy and sweaty bodies, overflowing champagne and the perfect party atmosphere, while the decks were ably helmed by not one, but two special guests. André Saraiva, French graffitist and entrepreneur (La Maison benefits from his input), was one, and the other was Gildas Loaëc, one-half of Kitsuné. Their resulting tandem DJ set marked the first of La Maison’s collaborative X Parties, and also happened to feature a bangin’ cross-section of indie-electro (from Le Tigre to La Roux). And judging by the fact that every surface of the club was being occupied by a dance move or 86, we know you loved it.

www.lamaison.com.sg

Is it a dance act? Is it an indie band? Hell no, it’s Delphic, you guys. All the way from Manchester, the quartet came to conduct a wonderful gig at Zouk and to show us how indie-tronic should be played – with ecstatic abandon, of course. And they’re pretty much experts in that bastard blend anyway, as their debut album, Acolyte (produced by Ewan Pearson and released by Kitsuné, yo), would have you know. So it was with dance shoes well polished and fists in the air that we greeted the band’s debut live showing on our shores.

“Clarion Call” logically and loudly sounded Delphic’s arrival, as the group proceeded through a tight set of sandblasting rock riffs and slick sampling. Surely you must have heard something you like: tracks like “Red Lights”, “This Momentary”, “Doubt” and “Acolyte” were duly aired, danced to and sung along with. However great the band was on record, nothing beat the euphoric heights that these Mancs scaled on that stage. By the time they returned for an encore of the brilliant “Counterpoint”, the dance floor was a sweaty pit of blissed out bodies (one of whom walked off with a signed Kitsuné x Petit Bateau tee). Well-played and well-tuned, gigs like these can’t happen often enough.

JUICE was the official magazine for this event and we were happy to do it. Props to KittyWu Records and Untitled Entertainment.

Photography: Eden Cai

The only DJ (mixing) competition left on these shores to provide for the hunger of the local clubbing scene, JUICE DJ QUEST kicked off to its loyal tune and threw the gauntlet down for four finalists, Kian, Av Neesh, Hayashida Ken and Clik, to let their console skills stretch far and wide on one special night at Zouk.

DJs Kian and Hayashida Ken, having participated in past finals came back for more action and were familiar names amongst the crowd, while new players to the game, Av Neesh and Clik, had their own fair share of fresh fanfare from the floor. The jocks held the ground throughout, made themselves the men of their own matches, and performed their task to great magnificence – doing justice to their craft as well as to the attendees of the shindig.

The panel of judges, consisting of music veterans, Angela Flame, Aldrin, Case Woo and djB, opened their ears and had their brains do the work while the competing DJs stirred up a beat fury. Kian kicked off with a tight and sharp techno offering before handing the stage over to Clik, who dribbled things to a different level with his minimal techno take. Av Neesh grabbed the third timeslot and slapped some crunchy tech and house beats on the platter, allowing for a beautiful finish by Hayashida Ken, whose flavour of light techno grooves most definitely pleased an ear or two.

Pioneer Pro DJ represented teen prodigy, DJ Jonathan, closed the final moments with an amazing electro mix as the judges came to their final decision and pointed fingers at Av Neesh as this year’s winner. Our newly crowned champion was surely a happy man that evening as he walked home with a shiny trophy from us, loads of kisses, and a whole boot of prizes from Pioneer Pro DJ, adidas Originals and Animax.

Special thanks to our sponsors, adidias Originals, Pioneer Pro DJ, Heineken, Bacardi, Animax and Zouk for giving us a hand. You made beautiful things happen that night and we love you!

Text: Wayne Lee
Images: Warren Teo

Hola amigos! If you’ve had your ear to the streets, you must already know about the collaboration between DC Shoes and SBTG (aka Mark Ong to his pals) that’s spawned the Circus of Mutants collection. Its launch party was held not too long ago at Rebel, where the inaugural DC x SBTG collection, SBTG’s artwork and an array of customised decks (by budding local artists) were on display. Now get this: just recently, the party also found its way into Mexico City, where DC and SBTG got to take over a building (check out that facade!) for a streetwise celebration. Mark shares those memories with us -

www.royalefam.com

dj nobody a.k.a Elvin Estela brought his slick beats straight from LA to celebrate Syndicate’s half year of existence at Home Club. Together with Cherry Chan and Brandon Tay who provided some trippy, space-transcending visuals, dj nobody’s music melded with their visual contributions into a smooth creamy blend of instrumental hip-hop infused with dubstep and psychedelic electronica. The crowd hung onto the lyrics churned out from dj nobody, their heads bobbing in sync with every hypnotic beat, showing us that the underground is well, emerging and alive. It was one hell of a night, and if this is a preview of what’s to come from Syndicate, we say, bring it on already!

Check the July issue of JUICE for more on the night, as well as an exclusive interview with dj nobody! Get it now at these spots (or for $4 at all major book stores and news stands).

www.syndicate.sg

A Peaches gig is like a well-oiled porn flick – sexual, dirty and crass but pretty darn gratifying. After making a sultry entrance at Zirca with “Mud” and “Talk To Me”, Peaches became an unstoppable force screaming her way through crowd favourites such as “Shake Your Dix” and “Two Guys (For Every Girl)”. The audience lapped up every bit of the electro-clash queen who was in town for the second time in four years – every crotch-thrusting, pole-f**king and champagne-spitting moment of it. Not quite satisfied with plain ol’ bodysurfing, Peaches broke new ground by announcing, “Jesus walked on water but Peaches will walk on you.” And she walk on the crowd she did, perching herself on the upturned palms of her adoring minions while “Showstopper” was underway.

Not one to exit gracefully, Peaches returned for an encore with “Rock N Roll” and “Set It Off”. She is absolutely off her rocker and wants you to know. Like it or not, everyone sure got the message. Lady Gaga who?

See more of the Peaches gig (plus a mini-chat with the woman herself) in your June issue of JUICE, now out at all these spots.

Peaches Live in Singapore was organised by Home Club and John Robinson, with JUICE as official magazine.

www.peachesrocks.com

For one night only, the streets were ours – or more specifically, adidas Originals’. Intent on celebrating all that’s creative and original, the label blocked off a few square meters of Clifford Square, set up a few worn down sofas and foosball tables, served beers and nachos, and blasted music, just so we could party, street-style. Spontaneity was the name of the game here, with fixie riders, skateboarders and football freestylers crossing paths, street meeting chic, homies rollin’ with homies, and hip hop grooves greeting graf art (courtesy of our local street virtuosos, Jahan, ANTZ and Zero). Yup, it was all sound and fury, enough to keep the gathered crowd minglin’ and sweatin’ for more.

And more did come: adidas Originals held up the fashion front once more with a showcase of their latest collections and collaborations. Models hopped down center stage to show off the label’s Spring/Summer wares (including those designed by Fafi), before some fierce Storm Troopers arrived, hinting at adidas’ latest team-up with Star Wars. That done, ears were then pricked by the phat beats of one DJ Tommy (a Lazy MuthaF**ka from Hong Kong), who blazed a trail of hip hop and rap for the benefit of the dance floor, leaving punters happier and stickier than when he found them. For rousing the streets into a state of party-poppin’, adidas Originals sure scored themselves a few mad points, drunken salutes and of course, some street cred on the way out.

See more of the party in the June issue of JUICE, now out at these spots.

They’re Scandinavian, which is cool. And on the occasion of The Radio Dept’s live debut in Singapore, throngs of hipsters and the occasional Swede cuddled together in Zouk to hear what these three men had to show for indie-pop, Scandinavian style.

The electronic shoegaze outfit, consisting of guitarist/vocalist Johan Duncanson, guitarist Martin Carlberg and keyboardist Daniel Tjäder, kicked off its first with a melodic “I Don’t Like it Like This”, before cruising through a heavily texturised set dominated by fuzzy vocals, lush keyboards and gritty synthesizers. Apart from crowd pleasers such as “Worst Taste in Music” and “Pulling Our Weight”, the audience also got a sneak preview of choice bits from their latest album, Clinging to a Scheme. After wrapping up their relatively short set, they returned to satiate the indie-deprived crowd with encores of “Keen on Boys” and “This Past Week”. Swede stuff, indeed.

www.theradiodept.com

Text: Fiona Chen
Images: Mykel Yee

Man, has Casio G-Shock been places. Not only has it found a spot on everyone’s wrist, the brand has been making its way across the globe as part of its Shock The World Tour. Taking off from London in June 2009, the tour has visited up to 19 cities (including New York, Paris, Berlin, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo), where they’ve thrown some of the fiercest parties attended by celebrities, designers, sports people and the like. So when the Shock The World Tour hit our little red dot, you know Casio G-Shock wouldn’t be pulling no punches.

The Singapore leg of the tour was commemorated in advance with a couple of collaborations that saw SMUDGE, Devilock and :phunk studio, hop on board with their very own vision of the Casio G-Shock. These gems were proudly launched and displayed at the Shock The World party held at Velvet Underground, where music, street fashion and design held sway. The night’s entertainment took off with local lights like Chou Pi Jiang, Alicia Pan and DJ KoFlow dominating the dance floor, interspersed with a breakdancing showcase. Meanwhile, guests got to rub shoulders with special guests including JJ Lin (found of SMUDGE), Noriaki Endo (Devilock), the :phunk quartet, and G-Shock inventor, Kikuo Ibe.

Topping off the party was London collective Horse Meat Disco, who showed up as two guys seamlessly matching electro beat to bleep and four to the floor, and encouraging every shape and size of disco boogie. By then, the dance floor was all up in arms, as the night and its high voltage stuff wrapped up on an electric peak. Singapore, consider yourself shocked.

world.g-shock.com

BIGGER AND BETTER
Big Night Out came back to us last month – bigger, better and with a meatier sound between its teeth. British rockers, Muse, headlined while American punk bands, Rise Against and Saosin, did the opening sets. 11,000 fans threw punches in the air as Muse took to the stage and promptly launched into the band’s new anthem, “Uprising”. Paired with spectacular real-time visuals, Muse went on to entertain the Singapore Indoor Stadium venue with a combination of new and older signatures along the likes of “Resistance”, “Hysteria”, “United States of Eurasia”, “Time Is Running Out” and “Map of the Problematique” (which included a solid solo performance by vocalist Matt Bellamy). The night wound down with the trio laying a brilliant encore (“Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1”, “Plug in Baby” and “Knights of Cydonia”) - ending one beast of a concert, and giving us nothing less than what we’d ask from a band like Muse.

See more in the March issue of JUICE, now out at these spots.

www.muse.mu

Text: Dianna Tai
Photography: Eden Cai