This week sees the release of Hospital’s Hospitality Drum & Bass 2013 collection. The sixth in the series, each Hospitality mix is designed to capture the vibe of the London super-label’s party department. This latest one in particular is stupendously slamming with cuts from the likes of Logistics, Fred V & Grafix, Placid, S.P.Y and Nu:Logic.
With huge events happening across the globe, each Hospitality event comes with its own carnage, excitement and, most importantly for any good club night, its own stories. We’ve all got our favourite but we thought we’d check in with some of the label’s most respected recruits to see what their best Hospitality moments have been… And a tune that sums it up.
FRED V & GRAFIX
“There was a classic moment when we were playing at Hospital Birmingham on the graveyard shift (4:30-6). The set was going down great considering how late it was and the crowd was still vibing a lot – we felt like we were really keeping them alive! Andy Attah was there snapping photos, and decided to take a video of us – perfect timing from him…just as he starts filming he zooms in to Fred; who’s doing his usual, arm waving/loony dancing.
Fred turns to Andy and now realises he’s being filmed. This of course spurs him on to go even more loony than usual. Caught up in this frenzy of dance moves, he slowly moves backwards trips over the monitor and lands on his arse in the middle of the stage. Andy caught it all on video, it was hilarious!”
Killer Hospitality track: Wilkinson – Need To Know (download)
“It releases a strange toxin into the environment that seems to make all girls go crazy!”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUoIEtWgIhM
JOE SYNTAX
“I think my most memorable Hospitality experience would have to be Global Gathering, 2011. I’d only been playing out properly for about six months and to be on the line up was a real honour. I warmed up the tent for B Complex and it filled up really quickly. It’s possibly the most fun I’ve ever experienced DJing and would love to go back one day.”
Killer Hospitality Track: TC – New Style (download)
“One of my favorite tracks which I’ve pulled on many occasions since it came out sometime last year. This track doesn’t take itself too seriously but has enough girth to work in any kinda of set I’m playing. It’s a very versatile track and always gets the crowd going a mad when it drops.”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcVG2yCaP_8
HIGH CONTRAST
“A really special Hospitality for me was early last year at Brixton Academy, which is always epic anyway, when I did my first ever VJ set. It was something of an experiment and a gamble as I had never done it before and we didn’t announce it before the show so the crowd were suddenly confronted with a cinema size screen filling the stage before them and my esoteric visuals. It was a tremendous amount of work building banks of video that I tailored for the tone of each track. I ended up staying up for about 48 hours before the show getting it ready in time, even editing stuff in the hotel right before the show. Normally you would test something like this in a small club but no I went into the deep end. And thankfully it all came off without a hitch and was a great experience for me, combining my love of cinema with my music. The crowd seemed surprised bu enthusiastic and have had some great feedback since (Netsky said one the images I put together for ‘Wish You Were Here’ brought tears to his eyes!). I hope to do more of this type of show in the future but want to keep it as something special. It’ll be hard to match the epicness of that particular gig.
Killer Hospitality Track: High Contrast – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (download)
“A tune of mine that just doesn’t seem to go away, because if I don’t play it I get a lot of people annoyed people asking why afterwards 🙂
It’s a little surprising because that track was never a single, it was an album only track on Tough Guys Don’t Dance. It was something of a sleeper hit that has gone on to become a signature tune for me which always gets a great reaction from a crowd.”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkENy3t_fgQ
NU:LOGIC
“Proabably for both of us, the first time we individually played at Herbal. We’d been going down to Hospitality for quite a while, and it was a huge buzz to get to play there. It’s amazing to think how far the Hospitality nights have grown since those early days.”
Killer Hospitality Track: High Contrast – Twilight’s Last Gleaming (download)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK6j141LJ3M
Hospitality Drum & Bass 2013 is out now! Download here.