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Issue 109

Monthly newspaper and online publication targeting 18 to 35 year olds. The ultimate guide to the hottest parties, going out and having fun. Music, fashion, film, travel, festivals, technology, comedy, and parties! London, Barcelona, Miami and Ibiza.

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We catch up with leading pioneer DJ and producer Kasra, who heads the Critical Sound imprint. Famed for their events all over, the DJ gives us the low down on the ins and outs of pulling off a killer Critical party, playing at Fabric and working with InsideInfo. 2017 / ISSUE 109 DRUM & BASS 43 As a label your parties have al- ways got the big names but also always pushing the newer sounds. Yeah, it's really important to me that we have that. I do like classic drum & bass but I don't like to be a retrospective label and look back, rather support the new people try- ing to do something different. So how did Circuits with InsideIn- fo come about? We've known each other a long while and it just fell together. He doesn't live that far from me and we managed to get into the studio to try and make some music to- gether and quite quickly we had a bunch of tunes and we didn't really feel like it was a Kasra or InsideInfo project and we liked the idea of giving it its own identity. When we first sat down we didn't think anything other than making something work as we approach music from different angles. How was your debut at Fabric? Yeah, it was really good, we're both good friends with Mefjus. He asked us to play and it was the perfect place to play really. Critical Sound has quite a long history with Fabric. Yes, very much so. We're kind of exploring a bit more outside of Fabric now, being a bit nomadic and moving around and seeing what we can do. Yeah, there are loads of places out there offering different spaces. There is, some people would argue there isn't. But there's spaces. We've been at Fabric for many years, we love it and will always wanna go back but it feels like the time to do something else. We've been there for six years now, maybe longer. How would you describe the Lon- don club scene at the moment Most of the time I'm away at the weekends working myself, I don't get to go to clubs that much. Then if I am at home, I don't wanna go to clubs! There's been a bit of a shift with the daytime stuff like Printworks is doing. Then there's a whole rafter of things going on in the underground like illegal parties and that kind of thing. My experience is that it feels like it's still vibrant with a lot going on in different places that we might not expect. In terms of all the parties that you've done in London, is there one that stands out in your mind? The Corsica one earlier this year was amazing. Such a wicked club, great sound system. Quite small for what we do. Some of the Fabric parties have been incredible. The first time we played there was room 3, which was like 7 years ago now. Quite a few to mention really, we've been lucky. Is there a venue in London that you would like to do an event at? Yeah, I wouldn't mind building to the point where we get our own festival. You look at what Hospital have done, you've gotta aim high. Then I really like the idea of doing small stuff as well. I find it interest- ing to push yourself to achieve a high level but I also like the idea of doing like 150 capacity. I wouldn't mind doing a Critical night at like Waiting Rooms or something. Real- ly concentrated vibe, just a couple of people DJing all night. What makes the smaller parties different to the bigger parties? Obviously the amount of people that are there, the intimate vibe. The sound is always a lot more intense. You don't need to book like 20 DJs, you can keep it simple. It's just a different experience. In the same way, that big shows can be incredible, small shows can be really, really special. If you could take a Critical party to anywhere in the world, where would that be? Womb in Toyko. I'd love to do, it's somewhere that I've always wanted to go to. Last year was a massive year, 15 years. How was that received in the scene after your tours all over and the album? Yeah, really well received I feel. We got a chance to do some incred- ible shows and some festival stuff. It just felt like a success all around, but the main thing for me being successful was putting out the music and getting to 15 years. In terms of music, last year was a huge year with loads of releases from more well established artists like Halogenix as well as the new guys coming through like Was A Be & Kumarachi though the quality was consistent. That's something that's really important to us, we always try and do. " I WOULDN'T MIND BUILDING TO THE POINT WHERE WE GET OUR OWN FESTIVAL. YOU LOOK AT WHAT HOSPITAL HAVE DONE, YOU'VE GOTTA AIM HIGH " Arren Haynes | Guestlist follow @kasracritical INTERVIEW: KASARA

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