Punch Funk on Mercury Sessions with Vance Musgrove - 10.8.05

**skahound** · August 7, 2005, 07:10:04 PM

Vance is the emm-effen bizniss. Although his available mixes are rare, they've left a lasting impression on me. Now everytime I see his name I change my entire schedule to make sure that I don't miss it! Kudos Danny on lining up yet another quality guest mix!

MJ · August 7, 2005, 07:52:48 PM

Re: Punch Funk on Mercury Sessions with Vance Musgrove - 10.

If I can sneak out of work in time I`ll defo be catching this show.

**Yao** · August 7, 2005, 09:25:00 PM

Re: Punch Funk on Mercury Sessions with Vance Musgrove - 10.

niiiice, will be tuning in if possible man...Musgrove maxes some sick mixes indeed. And I still love that track by him and McGrath: Freakin. Talk about going places with a track...

**dannygraham** · August 8, 2005, 06:32:23 PM

Re: Punch Funk on Mercury Sessions with Vance Musgrove - 10.8.05

Many thanks for the words of support guys! Much appreciated!

Vance is one of fave producers from the Australian prog & breaks scene but this mix probably isn't what you'd expect from him. It's still class though so I hope you enjoy!

**etincelles** · August 8, 2005, 06:37:11 PM

Re: Punch Funk on Mercury Sessions with Vance Musgrove - 10.8.05

...........

**shan** · August 9, 2005, 10:13:38 AM

Re: Punch Funk on Mercury Sessions with Vance Musgrove - 10.8.05

I wish Vance would get the finger out and release " freak out "

quality track

**Kinetic** · August 9, 2005, 10:43:35 AM

Re: Punch Funk on Mercury Sessions with Vance Musgrove - 10.8.05

Sounds great, really lookin? forward to it.

BTW, can any of the mods here set me up with the Chris Cowie set from last week? I missed it since I was at work...

**Yao** · August 9, 2005, 01:06:52 PM

Re: Punch Funk on Mercury Sessions with Vance Musgrove - 10.

Originally posted by shan

I wish Vance would get the finger out and release " freak out "

quality track

It's release, but not long....have it on vinyl mate

**dannygraham** · August 9, 2005, 02:15:24 PM

Re: Punch Funk on Mercury Sessions with Vance Musgrove - 10.8.05

BIOGRAPHY: Vance Musgrove (Canberra, ACT)

Vance Musgrove is, first and foremost, a music lover. Having been classically trained in piano from the age of 3, it seemed as though music would always be a big part of his life. However, it took some years before he discovered the sounds that would shape the rest of his musical identity.

Vance fell into electronic music before hitting his teens. What inspired him most was the way in which the music was infused with a stronger rhythmic element than he?d ever been exposed to in all his classical training. Drum & bass quickly became his newest obsession. But coming from a town where the electronic music scene was still burgeoning, and being way under age, his musical education took place at home rather than on the dancefloor.

That would soon change. In mid-1997, a friend gave Vance a flyer for DJing lessons he?d picked up at a Canberra outdoor party, and he pounced on the opportunity to see how this music was made. Around the same time, the same friend had lent Vance a tape for a few days. The tape was a copy of Sasha & Digweed?s Northern Exposure album, and Vance was blown away again. Vance?s focus was quickly overtaken by the progressive sound, and he set about laying his hands on a set of turntables so he could replicate the intricate and musical mixing style of that era.

A year-and-a-half later, and Vance?s first tape was hot off the decks. He gave it to his friend to listen to and asked him to give it to his brother, who was also a DJ, to see what he thought. That DJ was Jono Fernandez, Canberra legend and co-promoter (with Barrie Barton) of the seminal Canberra club night, Positive. Through Jono & Barrie and the Positive experience, Vance was quickly exposed to club life with all its vibrancy and energy. He hit the Positive lineup in early 2000, and that year supported Anthony Pappa, Gab Oliver, Phil K, Ivan Gough and Mark Dynamix with the smooth and musical in-key mixing style he would eventually become renowned for.

The more he listened and the more he played, the more Vance wanted to look beyond mixing records, and so he fell into production in early 2000. For him it was the logical extension of DJing as a musical exercise, and he relished the ability to experiment without rules and create music in a way he?d never done before. Exploring a range of sounds, his early work was equal parts prolific and very, very rough. It was only a matter of time before he produced something worthy of release, and in late 2000 Kasey Taylor picked up Squelch for his Vapour Recordings label. Vance?s first release drew close attention from those early progressive influences of his, even making it on to Kasey Taylor?s Balance 002 mix CD, and Parks & Wilson?s Painting on Silence compilation. That year Vance also tackled the Nubreed classic, Food For Thought in an unreleased remix that many still remember today thanks to the heavy support it was given by Phil K at the legendary Sunny parties in Melbourne.

2001 saw Vance buckling down to finish school, and having a quieter musical year as a result, but that didn?t stop him being asked to support Steve Lawler in June that year. However by 2002, with Positive long gone from the Canberra clubbing calendar and having had a quiet 2001, it felt as though Vance needed to re-establish his stake in the Canberra scene to some degree. By mid-year, he found himself playing at the Taboo parties put on by some of his university friends, and he?d once again found his niche. The parties were short-lived, but made an indelible mark on Canberra night life. Their ?anything goes? music policy resulted in a more open-minded crowd than Canberra had seen before, and Vance pushed downtempo, breaks, tech-house and progressive sounds to a new audience. And people were taking notice ? he was called upon to support US legend PQM later in the year.

Vance had also been busy furthering his production throughout the year. Having tracked down an acapella of one of the less well-known versions of Tenaglia?s house anthem Elements, he turned out a cheeky, funky homage called Elemental. After being broken to the UK audience by Steve Gerrard, who included it on his mix for John Digweed?s Kiss 100 radio show in the UK, Digweed himself took to playing it on the show over many weeks. The record went on to devastate dancefloors all over the world when it was released on Paolo Mojo?s Orc Music imprint, along with Lids Off, another Sunny staple hammered by Phil K and Ozzie LA, amongst others. A collaboration with Jono Fernandez, Directions in Groove also surface that year, and is forthcoming on Pangea Recordings out of the US. He had also been working on his own version of another early dance anthem. Scott Hardkiss?s Raincry, released under the God Within moniker, was a record Vance had loved since first being blown away by it on the Northern Exposure album, and he wanted to give it his own interpretation. Work on the remix was drawing to a close around the time Sasha was to perform in Canberra for the first time ever, during the Australian leg of his Airdrawndagger album tour. Vance was the logical choice for DJ support on the night, and his Raincry remix was fittingly premiered that evening to a roar that raised the roof.

The success of the Raincry remix would carry over into 2003. Phil K again lent his support to Vance?s work, having the unofficial remix cleared for inclusion on his DJ Magazine cover CD, Breaks from Australia. The attention it got through the compilation lead to it being picked up for a special vinyl release which gained him further recognition from the world?s DJing A-list, being played by John Digweed at the stroke of midnight during his New Years Eve 2003/2004 performance in LA, and being licensed to the Australian Ministry of Sound: Chillout Sessions 5 compilation.

DJ-wise, Vance was called on to support Adam Freeland, Infusion and Dave Seaman, as well as taking his first steps interstate, playing in Hobart for the Tasmanian University Union Dance Music Society?s New Year?s Eve party that year, again alongside Infusion. He was also invited to Melbourne to play at Private Function, and it was on this trip that he and Phil K produced their first record together, entitled Lost Sunday. A trippy breakbeat adventure that defies pigeonholing, it will soon see the light of day on Lobotomy Records out of the US.

That summer also saw Vance collaborate with another young Canberra producer, named Ross McGrath. The two had met a couple years previously but hadn?t found the time to collaborate until that summer. Ross played Vance a record he?d been working on, and Vance instantly took to it and asked if he could add to it. A weekend?s worth of work later and Freakout was finished. Phil K would again prove instrumental to breaking the record to audiences worldwide. He gave it to Anthony Pappa on a trip to the UK, and soon it was slated for inclusion on Pappa?s Balance 006 compilation. Once again, Vance had a hit on his hands, with support also coming from Jono Fernandez, Luke Chable, James Zabiela and Hernan Cattaneo, who included it on his June 2004 mix for John Digweed?s Kiss 100 radio show.

Another record Vance had been nurturing for a long time came to the surface in 2003, and yet again, Phil K would be the one to bring it to the masses. The track was called Music in the 24th-and-a-half Century, and was given to Phil as a nearly-but-not-quite-finished demo. Phil caned it relentlessly on his world tour at the end of 2003, including it on a live set aired online on Groovetech radio. Around the time Phil was compiling records for a mix CD project which would be released as Renaissance Presents: Therapy Sessions, the first disc of which was mixed by Dave Seaman. Phil included the record on that CD, which saw release in March 2004 and for many people, it was the highlight of the CD. Music in the 24th-and-a-half Century is yet to see release as most of it was lost in a crippling hard drive failure in late 2003, although Vance still hopes to release it when it is eventually finished.

2004 was another successful year. He took his musical skills to more interstate parties, playing at Inflight in Brisbane and Resurrection in Perth, and also scored support slots for Phil K, Anthony Pappa and Andy Page in Canberra. The year ended with Vance?s festival debut at Australia?s renowned Earthcore Global Carnival, sharing the bill with artists like Shpongle, Younger Brother & Freq Nasty for a weekend of hijinks in the beautiful countryside just outside of Melbourne. While Vance was in town, he also supported Steve Gerrard on his Australian Tour.

2005 has already seen a major hit for Vance, with Freakout finally seeing the light of day on the Coney Island EP, and promptly hitting the coveted #1 spot on the Balance Record Pool chart. With a swag of tunes on the way, and a few tricks up his sleeve still to be announced, it looks like Vance will be closing out 2005 with a bang!

Discography:

2003:

Squelch (Vapour Recordings) [featured on Balance002 mixed by Kasey Taylor & Painting on Silence mixed by Parks & Wilson]

Elemental b/w Lids Off (Orc Music)

2004:

God Within - Raincry [Vance Musgrove Remix] (Dorigen Limited) [featured on Phil K - Breaks from Australia & Ministry Of Sound: Chillout Sessions 5]

Music in the 24th-and-a-half Century (Unreleased) [featured on Renaissance presents
Therapy Sessions, Mixed by Dave Seaman and Phil K]

2005:

Fernandez & Musgrove ? Directions In Groove (Pangea)

Musgrove & McGrath ? Coney Island EP (EQ Grey)

Forthcoming:

Phil K & Vance Musgrove ? Lost Sunday (Lobotomy)

Press & DJ comments:

Phil soon nudges you to Vance Musgrove?s 9 minute broken mutant-jazz opus "Music in the 24th and a half Century"?
(www.thescene.com.au)

Vance Musgrove?s Music for the 24th & a half Century builds upon this over close to nine minutes of dreamy, floating breakbeats?.
(www.inthemix.com.au)

Phil K ? mixes faultlessly into a track by Vance Musgrove called Music In The 24th & A Half Century? This is a wicked tune really nice futuristic jazz vibe which is just sweet? 10 out of 10 for this tune?

This CD has some really nice tunes on it particularly the Vance Musgrove piece?
(www.xpander.nl)

The a-side, ?Freakout?, featured on Anthony Pappa?s Balance 006 CD and now makes a welcome entry to the vinyl market. Broken-beat percussion leads into the main body of the track ? a smooth composition built around a hazy, summery-sounding synth that soars and swoops like an eagle riding the heat currents.

The b-side belongs to ?Rollerdiscoking?. This is techy workout, more in line with previous EQ Grey releases. Playful melodies of all shapes and sizes swirl through the track, underpinned by sweeping pads and a heavily filtered bassline. Although easily overlooked on a first listen, in many ways ?Rollerdiscoking? is a stronger track than ?Freakout?, falling nicely in between conventional progressive theory and experimental sound.

The ?Coney Island EP? is one of EQ?s strongest releases in recent months. Musgrove, McGrath and the rest of Australia?s house music community are on great form at the moment. Let?s hope the Aussies burn themselves out before the Ashes! (www.progressivehouse.com - Review online by Simon Ross ? 9/10)

Hernan Cattaneo ? ?Freakout is one of the best tracks I?ve heard in ages.?

Jody Wisternoff (Way Out West) ? "A very special record!! Freakout is the kind of psychedelic progressive house that I absolutely love!! Melodic and trippy, but still driving and groovy. Totally feeling this track, and it has a very cool effect on the dancefloor. Rollerdiscoking is more of a funky techy groover, equally as fulfilling in a different way. Bigup!!!"

**skahound** · August 9, 2005, 06:34:39 PM

How long did it take you to type all of that Danny?

**dannygraham** · August 10, 2005, 02:57:15 AM

Re: Punch Funk on Mercury Sessions with Vance Musgrove - 10.8.05

About 5 seconds as I just cut n paste from Vance's email

He admits himself it's a bit long......

**shan** · August 10, 2005, 04:04:12 AM

Re: Punch Funk on Mercury Sessions with Vance Musgrove - 10.

Originally posted by Yao

Originally posted by shan

I wish Vance would get the finger out and release " freak out "

quality track

It's release, but not long....have it on vinyl mate

where dye pick it up pal ?

Punch Funk on Mercury Sessions with Vance Musgrove - 10.8.05

Punch Funk on Mercury Sessions with Vance Musgrove - 10.8.05

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